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Monday, August 22nd, 2005
The Gothamist is reporting that a federal judge will hear fashion designer Mark Ecko's graffiti appeal this afternoon; in fact, the hearing should be going on right about now. Senator Hillary Clinton has renewed calls for a universal rating system to cover video games, movies, music, and TV.
Time
Event
9:03a
The legal eagles who crank out the Davis & Co. video game law blog counsel gamers to check out the strange case of a college football mascot who has filed suit against Electronic Arts.
Viliami Fehoko, the mascot for the University of Hawaii, portrays "Vili the Warrior" on the football field. Fehoko invented the character, but received no payment from EA for its inclusion in NCAA Football 06. The game, currently selling well for Xbox and PS2, includes Vili the Warrior as a featured mascot. Fehoko's suit asks for at least $75,000 in damages for the unauthorized use of his name and image.
Chris Bennett, one of several game-savvy Davis attorneys who edit the blog, comments that "Lawsuits such as this one are common (although we doubt EA has previously been sued by a half naked guy covered in war paint). Earlier this month, Sony won the first stage of a lawsuit involving Sony's use of an ice cream truck in Twisted Metal...The risk of a lawsuit makes copyright and trade-mark clearances an extremely important part of game development and production."
The EA suit is hardly Fehoko's first brush with controversy. The 290-pound mascot has been criticized in the past for being to aggressive on the field. Some feel he has brought embarrassment to the university.2:46p
In a Q&A-style opinion piece in Sunday's Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) spelled out her views on media violence. Here's a sample:
"There is 40 years of evidence pointing to the negative effect of violent media on children...But the impact of violence in the media on crime deserves more exploration. So, I have proposed a bipartisan bill to establish a research center on media and children at the National Institutes of Health..."
Q: How do you respond to critics who say that any attempt to curb violence in media is an attack on free speech ?
A: "As parents, we must reassert our authority over what enters our households...While the Supreme Court has never considered the constitutionality of a prohibition on distributing extremely violent or sexually explicit video games to children, other cases before the court would lead one to believe that it would be upheld."
Q: How can the entertainment industry be held more accountable for producing and promoting products that too often glamorize violence?
"I have called for legislation that would put real teeth into video game industry ratings by creating penalties for retailers that fail to enforce the system...I also have called for a universal ratings system across all media because what we have today is alphabet soup. From TV-Y7-FV to AO to PG-13, the different ratings systems for each type of entertainment - TV, video games, movies and music - are tough to navigate..."
Q: Is the government doing enough to combat the problem? If not, what do you suggest?
A: "There is a bipartisan consensus that additional action can and should be taken. For example, I introduced the CAMRA Act (Children and Media Research Advancement Act) along with Sens. Joseph Lieberman, D-Del., Sam Brownback, R-Kan., and Rick Santorum, R-Pa., to establish a research center at the National Institutes of Health to examine the impact of all forms of media on children.
...I also am developing legislation to put in place penalties for video game retailers that sell Mature and Adults-only rated games to minors and require the Federal Trade Commission to investigate modifications of video games so that we can ensure that what happened with Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas doesn't happen again."3:23p
Ecko, whose real name is Marc Milecofsky, is frustrated by New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg's decision to yank the permit for a graffiti art exhibit planned for Wednesday. Ecko invited several well-known graffiti artists to spray paint on life-size panels depicting subway cars. The designer wants to shut down 22nd Street between 10th and 11th avenues for the exhibition, his lawsuit said. Hizzoner and a city councilman, Peter Vallone, took umbrage on the basis that the exhibit might provoke a wave of copycat graffiti.
The Gothamist piece is short, but has great links to in-depth coverage in Newsday, including this classic First Amendment debate from a proceeding on Friday:
"The city should stop dictating to artists what they can use for their art," Ecko's attorney Daniel Perez told Newsday. "These are not real subway trains. No one is going to commit a crime."
Paula van Meter, a city attorney, argued in court that painting subway replicas is not protected speech because it "necessarily simulates a criminal act."
(U.S. District Judge Jed) Rakoff responded skeptically, asking whether the city would block a sidewalk performance of the Leonard Bernstein musical "West Side Story" because it deals with gang activity.
Van Meter said the graffiti event is different because it would suggest that the city embraces vandalism. If The Big Apple is going this crazy over a one-day exhibit, what will they do when the graffiti-oriented video game Marc Ecko's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure is released this fall?4:03p
It takes a village...and a rating system.
So says Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) who has called for universal ratings. In an op-ed piece in yesterday's Rochester Democrat & Chronicle Mrs. Clinton said, in part, "...I also have called for a universal ratings system across all media because what we have today is alphabet soup. From TV-Y7-FV to AO to PG-13, the different ratings systems for each type of entertainment - TV, video games, movies and music - are tough to navigate..."
Most likely, such a universal rating system would be opposed by its potential participants, including the video game industry. Earlier this year GamePolitics asked ESA president Doug Lowenstein if there would be interest in developing a single, cross-media rating system that covers games, movies, and music.
The ESA boss wasn't keen on the idea, telling us, "A mandated universal ratings system will put the government squarely into the business of regulating content by allowing it to approve or develop content ratings standards. In addition, it would mean the Executive Branch or Congress could change content standards on a periodic basis in response to whatever political position is in vogue. It's violence now, but in the future it could be any other socially, culturally, or politically unpopular content.
Further, a universal violence rating system is unworkable because of the broad differences in the content produced by various entertainment industries. For example, motion pictures and television programs usually involve visual depictions of real actors in real situations; video and PC games typically depict animated characters in fantasy environments; and music consists of only auditory elements. More significantly, video and PC games are interactive, while movies, television programs and sound recordings are not. By imposing a 'one size fits all' violence formula on these widely divergent entertainment mediums, a universal ratings system will create confusion, not simplicity. "
Late this afternoon we've offered Doug Lowenstein as well as ESRB president Pat Vance the opportunity to add any additional comments. We gave them very short notice due to time constraints on posting this article, so we'll be glad to add their thoughts when they are able to send them along. 7:17p
New York's all-news radio station WINS is reporting that Marc Ecko has beaten New York City and Mayor Michael Bloomberg in court in a widely reported First Amendment case
Federal Judge Jed Rakoff has ordered the Big Apple to reinstate a permit for Ecko's block party, scheduled for Wednesday in the city's Chelsea district. The designer plans to have 20 graffiti artists show off their spray technique on life-size replicas of subway cars.
The event is being staged to promote the upcoming video game Marc Ecko's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure. City officials argued that they had a right to nix the block party because it might encourage copycat graffiti.
Obviously, the judge disagreed.7:40p
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