Take-Two Sues Chicago Transit Authority Over GTA IV
Grand Theft Auto IV [http://www.take2games.com] following a Fox News report criticizing their placement.
According to a Reuters [http://www.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUSN0541723720080505]report, the lawsuit claims the transit authority violated Take-Two's free speech rights and contractual obligations by pulling the ads "within days" of their appearance in late April. Take-Two said the advertising was removed from buses and other transit-owned properties with no explanation. The ad campaign was originally scheduled to run for six weeks.
The suit seeks a court order to force the authority to run the ads as initially planned, as well as minimum monetary damages of $300,000, the value of the original contract between the publisher and the CTA. The ads were pulled after a local Rockstar [http://www.myfoxchicago.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=6353524&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=VSTY&pageId=3.1.1]game with a wave of crime that had gripped the city, which included more than two dozen shootings over the span of a single weekend.
There has been no word yet on whether Take-Two will bring similar action to bear on Miami-Dade County, where the transit authority decided to pull the ads following a complaint from notorious Take-Two-hater Jack Thompson. According to MDTA [http://gamepolitics.com/2008/05/06/miami-dade-transit-officials-explain-gta-iv-ad-ban-decision-sort-of/].
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Grand Theft Auto IV [http://www.take2games.com] following a Fox News report criticizing their placement.
According to a Reuters [http://www.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUSN0541723720080505]report, the lawsuit claims the transit authority violated Take-Two's free speech rights and contractual obligations by pulling the ads "within days" of their appearance in late April. Take-Two said the advertising was removed from buses and other transit-owned properties with no explanation. The ad campaign was originally scheduled to run for six weeks.
The suit seeks a court order to force the authority to run the ads as initially planned, as well as minimum monetary damages of $300,000, the value of the original contract between the publisher and the CTA. The ads were pulled after a local Rockstar [http://www.myfoxchicago.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=6353524&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=VSTY&pageId=3.1.1]game with a wave of crime that had gripped the city, which included more than two dozen shootings over the span of a single weekend.
There has been no word yet on whether Take-Two will bring similar action to bear on Miami-Dade County, where the transit authority decided to pull the ads following a complaint from notorious Take-Two-hater Jack Thompson. According to MDTA [http://gamepolitics.com/2008/05/06/miami-dade-transit-officials-explain-gta-iv-ad-ban-decision-sort-of/].
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