A federal appeals court today ruled that video games are indeed protected under the first amendment of the US Constitution:

"If the First Amendment is versatile enough to 'shield [the] painting of Jackson Pollock, music of Arnold Schoenberg, or Jabberwocky verse of Lewis Carroll,' we see no reason why the pictures, graphic design, concept art, sounds, music, stories, and narrative present in video games are not entitled to a similar protection," the court said in its ruling. "The mere fact that they appear in a novel medium is of no legal consequence."

This reverses a controversial earlier court ruling that sought to limit access to mature games. Thanks to CNN Money for running the story.