Game over for Sony’s copyright battle
Game over for Sony’s copyright battle :: Contractor UK: "Sony has suffered a landmark legal defeat in Australia after a judge ruled that modifying or ‘chipping’ PlayStation consoles is a legal practice available to all thumb-sore nationals.
The ruling from the High Court empowers PlayStation fans to play games available in the US or Japan, before they hit Australian stores.
‘Chipping’ or the practice of installing mods into a PlayStation is illegal in the UK but now gamers Down Under can supply and install the mods, which even allow players to run bootleg or back-up copies.
Such a practice of tweaking PlayStations to accommodate games anywhere in the world was the business of Eddy Stevens, a small Sydney-based entrepreneur, whose operation Sony claimed was a breach of copyright law.
But after four years of conflicting court hearings, the High Court finally rejected Sony’s case, explaining mod chips are a legitimate means for consumers to increase their enjoyment of an already acquired product.
It noted how a consumer who legally bought a PlayStation (PS) game in the US or Japan could not play it on an unmodified console.
It added that mods did not breach copyright law, citing the chips welded to consoles as enablers for gamers to play copied or imported games, rather than a copying device.
According to Australia’s Competition & Consumer Commission, the verdict was based on Sony’s failure to prove that its regional coding controls, which govern Australia, US and Japan, were simply a means to stop copyright infringement.
Moreover, regional controls were in put in place to restrict the playback of certain games, the court said, highlighting that copyright law does not outlaw playing computer games, only copying them illegally..."
The ruling from the High Court empowers PlayStation fans to play games available in the US or Japan, before they hit Australian stores.
‘Chipping’ or the practice of installing mods into a PlayStation is illegal in the UK but now gamers Down Under can supply and install the mods, which even allow players to run bootleg or back-up copies.
Such a practice of tweaking PlayStations to accommodate games anywhere in the world was the business of Eddy Stevens, a small Sydney-based entrepreneur, whose operation Sony claimed was a breach of copyright law.
But after four years of conflicting court hearings, the High Court finally rejected Sony’s case, explaining mod chips are a legitimate means for consumers to increase their enjoyment of an already acquired product.
It noted how a consumer who legally bought a PlayStation (PS) game in the US or Japan could not play it on an unmodified console.
It added that mods did not breach copyright law, citing the chips welded to consoles as enablers for gamers to play copied or imported games, rather than a copying device.
According to Australia’s Competition & Consumer Commission, the verdict was based on Sony’s failure to prove that its regional coding controls, which govern Australia, US and Japan, were simply a means to stop copyright infringement.
Moreover, regional controls were in put in place to restrict the playback of certain games, the court said, highlighting that copyright law does not outlaw playing computer games, only copying them illegally..."
posted by Ben | 
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