The Entertainment Consumers Association (ECA) today unveiled its new work group called "Gamers for Digital Rights." With Sony having just launched the all-digital PSPgo and services like Xbox Live, PlayStation Network and WiiWare offering plenty of digital content, consumers should be educated on their rights, and ECA hopes to do just that.
The group is free to join and "features valuable information for consumers who want to learn more about their legal rights and understand more about issues in the world of video games, such as digital content distribution, license agreements, virtual property, and video game piracy."
“Digital rights are an extremely important and timely subject for everyone who buys and enjoys entertainment, but especially for those who purchase and play video games,” said ECA Vice President and General Counsel, Jennifer Mercurio. “With Gamers for Digital Rights, our goal is to educate consumers about their rights, as well as the copyright and trademark laws associated with such technologies, and then work to open a dialogue between software publishers, developers and gamers.”
As part of the new initiative and ECA's increased focus on DRM issues in the games industry, the organization also announced the hiring of Robert L. Hunter, IV (“Beau”) as their Digital Rights Consultant. He'll be tasked with heading up the ECA’s efforts on related outreach and educational programs for the Government Affairs team. Hunter is also currently serving as the President of Global Intellectual Property Securities, a consulting firm dedicated to helping multinational clients develop IP education and enforcement programs. Hunter is not brand new to the game industry. He previously worked with the Entertainment Software Association as Manager for IP Enforcement.
“The addition of Beau gives our Government Affairs team increased depth of knowledge and unparalleled expertise when it comes to topics related to this subject,” said Mercurio. “The importance of this issue is mounting, as we move from a packaged goods model, where we own what we buy, to a digitally-distributed model, where we may have a license for what we buy. With Beau’s unique background and skill-sets, we’re excited to have him on our team and are optimistic that we can tackle those challenges and work cooperatively with publishers to strike a fair balance that benefits everyone.”
