February 20, 2009 3:05 PM

Another Jenner Win for the Video Game Industry

Posted by Zach Lowe

A quickie news update for all of our video game-playing readers out there: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has struck down a California law that bans the sale of some violent video games to minors and proposes a $1,000 fine for stores who violate the ban. 

As we wrote in October (when the case was argued), Jenner & Block partner Paul Smith has been arguing against these laws on behalf of the video game industry in about ten states--and he's never lost. The Ninth Circuit ruling today affirms a lower court ruling from last year.

Smith has consistently argued that the ban violates First Amendment free speech protections, and he's suggested that states stick to the current system based on movie ratings. The system, which includes a "no one under 17 rating," is voluntary, and stores can't be fined for going against the rating recommendations. (Check out our previous post for full background on the case.)

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