High Court allows mod chips

[Robert]

The Australian High Court has ruled that mod chips are allowed, in order for consumers to order items from overseas to use on their playstations.

 

Source

Computer buffs sick of paying big bucks for new games for their PlayStations will be cheering a court ruling which could prove a major setback for entertainment giant Sony.

 

The High Court decision makes it easier for users to play imported or copied games on their PlayStations, using modification chips on their machines which Sony had argued were illegal.

 

Australian PlayStation games can retail for anywhere between $70 and $110, but players can buy them overseas much cheaper or copy them for free.

 

The ruling is a victory for Sydney retailer Eddy Stevens who has been involved in a four-year battle with Sony.

 

His legal firm, Gadens Lawyers, described the judgment as a win for consumers.

 

During the original Federal Court hearing, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) aided Mr Stevens' case as a "friend of the court".

 

After the initial victory, then ACCC chairman Allan Fels suggested the ruling could have implications for DVD players, which are similarly hampered by regional coding restrictions.

 

Professor Fels warned consumers could suffer because regional coding potentially restricted access to cheaper goods.

 

"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," he said at the time.

 

"The ACCC was concerned to ensure that technology which can overcome these unfair restrictions remains generally available for consumer use."

 

The ACCC did not want to comment on the High Court judgment.

 

Gadens' managing partner Stephen Bradley compared the victory to a David and Goliath battle.

 

"Eddy Stevens' win is a win for the everyday consumer," Mr Bradley said in a statement.

 

"The judiciary and the consumer watchdog categorically upheld the rights of the little guy against the might of a multinational."

 

Sony originally sued Mr Stevens because he had been selling Australian-made PlayStations in which he put "mod chips", overcoming regional coding blocks which stopped the machine playing imported or copied games.

 

The games company claimed he was violating its copyright.

 

In 2002, the Federal Court ruled the "mod chips" did not constitute a breach of copyright under Australian laws, which Sony successfully appealed to the court's Full Bench.

 

Mr Stevens then took the matter to the High Court, which upheld the original Federal Court decision.

 

In a unanimous decision, the High Court accepted the finding of Federal Court Judge Ronald Sackville that the "mod chips" would only breach copyright if they were designed to circumvent systems in the machine which prevented or inhibit copying of games.

 

Sony had argued that by making imported or copied games unplayable on PlayStation, the unit had included technological protection measures.

 

A spokeswoman for Sony Australia said it had no comment to make on the judgment.

 

This should also allow region-free DVD players to become legally available in Australia.

[Agozer]

I guess it's time to move to Australia then. I read about this on our local news service.

[James]

This should also allow region-free DVD players to become legally available in Australia.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

My DVD player is region free ( By default ) and my friend has the same model and thats how they were brought from the store.

[Robert]

What this ruling does:

 

Firstly, it legalises mod chips that remove region-based restrictions. It also legalises mods to circumvent what you can run on your PS2.

 

What it does not:

It does not legalise mod chips that allow pirated/illegal software to run, or breaches copyright laws.

 

The implications:

Any device that has region-based restrictions can be legally modified to remove the restriction. Such as DVD players and maybe some other consoles.

 

Any device that has restrictions on whose software can be used can be legally modified. This particularly applies to the PSP.

 

Australian law does not permit companies to restrict competition by using unfair tactics which is exactly what Sony does.

[Weirdy]

I believe this can only work in Australia since companies like sony and nintendo and M$ don't really have a specific market there. Because it's all usually asia, europe, and u.s where australia is in neither.