ECA Forms Gamers For Digital Rights

The Entertainment Consumers Association announced Thursday the formation of Gamers for Digital Rights, a group aiming to provide "the tools and resources that will help protect the rights of video game consumers." ECA VP and general counsel Jennifer Mercurio said in a statement, "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." She added, "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." The new Gamers for Digital Rights web presence has information about consumers' legal rights, and covers topics including digital distribution, license agreements, virtual property and game piracy. The group is free to join. The ECA also said that it hired Robert L. Hunter, IV as digital rights consultant. Among other duties, he will work with the ECA's government affairs team on topics related to Gamers for Digital Rights, the ECA said. Hunter is also currently president of Global Intellectual Property Securities. He previously worked for the Entertainment Software Association as manager for IP enforcement.