ESA Gets Tough on Videogame Piracy

The Entertainment Software Association is sending word that it is hiring a new general counsel in the person of Kenneth Doroshow, who is a veteran of the Recording Industry Association of America. At the organization, Kenneth served as the head of the litigation department, which sought to go after all those who infringed copyright of music that is the property of big record companies. Doroshow is also credited with doing a good work for the United States Department of Justice, where he was senior counsel for a while at the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section.

When he was working for RIAA, Doroshow was the head of a department which brought lawsuits against services like LimeWire, Usenet.com or Russian MP3 site AllofMP3.com, which were all in breach of copyright agreements.

Patrick Ross, who is the executive director of the Copyright Alliance, which counts the Entertainment Software Association, RIAA, Viacom and NBC Universal as members, applauded the move and said that "Ken brings a wealth of intellectual property knowledge and experience to the Entertainment Software Association".

The announcement is seen by many as the first move in a wider strategy through which the ESA plans to fight piracy, which is rampant on the PC and has also made progress on console platforms. Most big publishers blame piracy for diminishing returns on the money they invest in big titles and analysts say that an industry-wide fight to reduce piracy is very necessary.

After this year's E3 trade convention, the ESA was criticized fort its lack of action regarding the pressing issues of the game industry. After notable members, such as Activision or Blizzard, decided to leave the organization, it needs a high profile initiative destined to regain the trust of the public and of the main companies that are active in game development and distribution.