JURIST - Paper Chase: Take Two, Thompson settle Bully, GTA4 disputes

[JURIST] Video game publisher Take-Two Interactive [corporate website] reached a settlement on Thursday with anti-game activist lawyer Jack Thompson. Take-Two agreed to drop a contempt of court charge against Thompson stemming from a prior legal battle [GamePolitics.com report] over the video game Bully. Thompson had strong words for the judge following his unsuccessful attempt [JURIST report] last October to get the "Teen"-rated game blocked from stores in Florida under a state public nuisance law, giving rise to the contempt charge for which Thompson faced possible jail time.

Take-Two filed a federal suit [GamePolitics.com report] last month in Florida in response to Thompson's threats to take similar action against upcoming Take-Two games Manhunt 2 and the highly-anticipated Grand Theft Auto IV. Thompson filed a countersuit that initally made RICO allegations but was later revised [GamePolitics.com report] to simply ask the court to consider blocking the sale of the games.

Both suits will be dropped as part of the settlement [PDF text], and Thompson agreed not to sue or threaten to sue in connection with the games or to allege wrongdoing on the part of any party that sells the games. Thompson retains the right to criticize the content of the games. The settlement comes after a shareholder revolt in the company [Gamasutra report]. The October 2007 scheduled release of Grand Theft Auto IV is considered a key factor in helping turn things around [TheStreet.com report] for the financially-troubled publisher.

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