LEGISLATION
New Hampshire Senate Bill 175: New Hampshire Right of Publicity Bill
Most Recent News: Media Coalition on November 2 sent to the New Hampshire Senate Commerce Committee a letter outlining the reasons that a new bill, S.B. 175 should not exempt them from First Amendment protection by explicitly stating that video games are not "expressive works" and excluding them from a section that would exempt them from the bill's provisions. Media Coalition sent a letter to the members of the Commerce Committee, where the bill currently awaits vote. The letter reviews relevant case law, most notably Brown v. EMA, to assert that video games are speech and, as such, are protected by the First Amenment and cannot be legislated differently than other media such as books, music, and movies.
History: Media Coalition on March 22 sent a memo in opposition to S.B. 175 explaining that the bill's specific exemption of video games from the definition of "expressive works" runs counter to the First Amendment's historical lack of distinction between mediums and between works that entertain and works that inform.
S.B. 175 was referred to the Senate Commerce Committee on March 30, 2011, by Sen. Bradley. The legislature adjourned before the committee voted on the measure.
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