SCE loses first mod-chip case
Australian judge denies illegality claims, global first.
Sony Computer Entertainment has lost a case against mod-chip manufacturers for the first time ever. The blow came in Australia, a PAL region, where the Sydney High Court ruled that adding mod-chips didn’t breach copyright laws.
In contrast to victories Sony has enjoyed in the US, Canada and Europe, Judge Ronald Sackville declared that Sony failed to conclusively prove that the PlayStation and PlayStation 2 technologies employed within the console had any copy protection in the first place.
"The ACCC has long believed that region coding is detrimental to consumer welfare as it severely limits consumer choice and, in some cases, access to competitively priced goods,” said Australian Competition and Consumer Commission president Professor Alan Fels. “The ACCC was concerned to ensure that technology which can overcome these unfair restrictions remains generally available for consumer use," he added.
Although this sounds strange, Sony Computer Entertainment Australia simply declared that such protection is in place, without offering any evidence to back it up. The court then ruled that the modification of consoles enabled them to play legal software from other gaming regions, a statement more damaging to Sony’s ongoing campaign than losing the original case.
More on this as it breaks.
In contrast to victories Sony has enjoyed in the US, Canada and Europe, Judge Ronald Sackville declared that Sony failed to conclusively prove that the PlayStation and PlayStation 2 technologies employed within the console had any copy protection in the first place.
"The ACCC has long believed that region coding is detrimental to consumer welfare as it severely limits consumer choice and, in some cases, access to competitively priced goods,” said Australian Competition and Consumer Commission president Professor Alan Fels. “The ACCC was concerned to ensure that technology which can overcome these unfair restrictions remains generally available for consumer use," he added.
Although this sounds strange, Sony Computer Entertainment Australia simply declared that such protection is in place, without offering any evidence to back it up. The court then ruled that the modification of consoles enabled them to play legal software from other gaming regions, a statement more damaging to Sony’s ongoing campaign than losing the original case.
More on this as it breaks.
Companies:
Sony
Read More Like This