Once a dispute lands at the Supreme Court, the stakes are big and so are the bills. This June, the video-game industry convinced the justices to strike down, on free speech grounds, a California law prohibiting minors from buying violent video games—a victory that came along with a $1.1 million bill from its lawyers at Jenner & Block. The expenses were revealed in a court filing last month in which the Entertainment Software Assn., whose members include Electronic Arts (ERTS), Sony (SNE), Microsoft (MSFT), and Take-Two Interactive (TTWO), asked California to reimburse its legal costs. The tab was a pittance for an industry that has $25 billion in annual sales.

Photo illustration by Seven-Thirty-One