ESA stands behind proposed SOPA legislation, issues statement

Last week, it appeared as though various game developers and publishers had pulled support for the proposed "Stop Online Piracy Act" - a piece of legislation that would empower content owners to effectively shut down internet sites over copyright infringement claims. The Entertainment Software Association, however, was still listed as a supporter, meaning that the long list of game companies belonging to the ESA supported it by proxy. That's pretty much every major game company you can think of, with the exception of Activision.

The ESA is still a SOPA supporter, and today the game industry's lobbying group issued a statement to Joystiq regarding its support of the controversial bill. It reads as follows:

"As an industry of innovators and creators, we understand the importance of both technological innovation and content protection, and do not believe the two are mutually exclusive. Rogue websites – those singularly devoted to profiting from their blatant illegal piracy – restrict demand for legitimate video game products and services, thereby costing jobs. Our industry needs effective remedies to address this specific problem, and we support the House and Senate proposals to achieve this objective. We are mindful of concerns raised about a negative impact on innovation. We look forward to working with the House and Senate, and all interested parties, to find the right balance and define useful remedies to combat willful wrongdoers that do not impede lawful product and business model innovation."

As we've previously stated, Joystiq does not support SOPA, nor does our parent company. Additionally, Serious Sam: Double D dev Mommy's Best Games is currently calling on ESA members to speak out against the proposed bill.