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Sony Crushes UK PS2 Mod Chip Developers
SukebePanda! writes "UK mod chip developer Channel
Techonology finally had their day in court with Sony, and lost big time. This judgement could have far reaching implications, with the judge implying that even playing original imports was illegal. This
also wipes out any chances of seeing home brewed software on the Playstation 2 anytime soon, as well. "
That's right, Sony... alienate those customers of yours who are most enthusiastic about your product... that'll make you irrelevant faster than anything else.
Yeah, now they're gonna lose all those masses of people who want to write their own games and all those valuable customers who just want to pirate games!!! How are they going to make profit on selling those hardware boxes now!?!?
This actually sounds quite bad for importing DVDs. It states that imported PS2 games are illegal to play in the UK. It claims this as it makes an unauthorised copy of the game in memory. I'm sure that if you really wanted this could be stretched to include DVDs (as the article says). As IANAL, I am wondering if this ruling could be taken as legal precedent? Hopefully this bit can be overturned soon.
Another thing I'm wondering about it copying data to memory can be considered "illegal copying". If this is the case for imported games, I do not see how this would make it "not illegal" (for lack of a better phrase) to load PS2 games of your home region (as it is still copying). As "copying" is an integral function of all consoles, I'm wondering what unexpected side-effects there will be. I think the whole thing is a minefield, and the sooner we get a knowledgable expert posting here the better. The whole thing about licensing only for a certain region bothers me - I really can't see why we're not allowed to play import games (or DVDs). OK, its their technology, but still there is "fair use". Hopefully the EU can check into this as well when it's doing its investigation of the legality of DVD regions.
If I buy a PS2 game (or CD, DVD, whatever), and it is illegal for me to make a backup copy, shouldn't I be allowed to get the disc replaced for free if/when it becomes scratched to the point of being unusable?
After all, if I buy a license for a piece of software, I retain the rights use that software for an unlimited amount of time.
According to this link, Australia is moving in the opposite direction. No, it isn't about mod chips -- it is about the legality of region encoding DVDs. This would have interesting implications as legislators were talking about "zoned" DVD players being illegal. I don't know how it turned out.
Learning HOW to think is more important than learning WHAT to think.
"...a game that is run without permission makes a copy of copyright material in memory, this copy is 'infringing' because it is an unauthorized..."
While I understand the intention behind this statement, isn't it flawed? This statement is given to explain why software licensed in one area is illegal when run in another.
IANAL, but as I see it the truth is this: The license agreement is a (supposedly) legally-binding contract that defines the conditions by which you use the material you've bought. If the license says you can only use it between noon and 3pm then that's what you should, in theory, do. So if a license says "This software is licensed for use in the UK only" then that's the only place the software is legal. Whether we like it or not, that's the law.
The judge's statement tries to find some alternative justification for what should just be a black-and-white case - the law says it's illegal to cross-region, end of story. What Jacob says implies that a non-permanent, volatile copy of data used solely during the active "life" of a media's playback is subject to copyright.
So - as an example - the "copy" of a CD's audio content as it passes from the disc to the speakers by means of decoding and amplification circuitry. Is that a copy of the music? It's as permanent as the data stored in RAM during the execution of software and is no more useful. You can't duplicate the game from the content of the PS's RAM; you'd be lucky to reconstruct all the data & program files from what passes through memory during an execution.
The law says it's wrong. Whether it's to our liking or not, it's black-and-white, as defined in the license. So why try to justify the decision in this way?
There are further-reaching consequences of this ruling, including those applying to other electronic media, that should be considered. The ruling may be right, but the wording is still important.
Hmmm strange that this happens in the UK.
I could imagine that an american court ruled like this.
Why? Well here in Europe the majority of software/hardware producers go by the good spirit of "If you buy it's yours, if you modify/brake it it's your problem"
What is a PS/2 good for if can't modify it to my needs?
If enough people think like this Sony just cut it's own flesh...
it's funny how we have laws that provide for fair use and allow us to make back-up copies of software, CD's, DVD's, etc. but when it comes down to the courts actually upholding our right to do so, they typically fall towards the company that creates technology to prevent us from using these backups.
"yes, you have the right to make backups of Playstation games, but no, you do not have the right to play them since Sony has technology to prevent you from doing so."
seems like there really isn't any fair use anymore.
i'm wondering if i could purchase a Playstation CD and return it to the company that made it for a replacement in the event that it got scratched/damaged. has anyone done this? i mean, they say they don't want to let us make copies, but i should only have to pay for the game once. i'd be more than happy to pay for the replacement media and shipping. i'm just betting that they'd charge me $45 for a $50 game. now, what does that tell about how much the actual game is worth?
So why would you buy it in Japan? Because the game is:
A) Not availible at all in America
B) It won't be availible in America for ages, but you're willing to pay for the privilidge of playing it early.
C) You happened to *be* in Japan when buying it (I got a bunch of DVDs I can't play on any Region 1 DVD player if I decide to go a year to America.
D) The local version is a cripple (As was/is often the case with DVDs, with bad format (two sides), no extras etc.)
E) Artifical pricing - actually very rare case to make up for shipping and customs, trouble with returns/replacements and so on.
A) - No loss whatsoever
B) - They could sell it to you for a premium, they just don't.
C) - Pisses off those it concerns, for no return, I still won't buy them twice.
D) - Pure incompetence, we need competitive protection from our other divisions.
E) - Wow they might actually lose some money.
Kjella
Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
When I buy a book, a CD, a DVD, or a program, I have bought a set of data. I own it. It is mine. I can sell it. I can loan it to my friends. If it is covered under copyright and I don't have a license to cover that then the law doesn't allow me to make copies and distribute those copies or perform public reinactments. But that is the only right that I don't have.
I am sick and tired of all these butt pirate corporate executives and the judges they bend over the podium taking away my fair use rights to the software that I personally own. I'm not like the judges in these cases, I don't like taking it up the ass for the media companies.
I don't own a license to any of the software I have. I never agreed to any license. If I have agreed to a license, then show me the signed contract. Click through doesn't count. I left my computer unattended, the cat must have accidently pressed the mouse button. If you have a witness that proves it was me that installed software on my computer, then produce that witness.
I actually own that copy of the software, outright. Just like I own a book or a magazine. If I want to buy japanese DVD's and play them in my American DVD player, I should be allowed to do so. If I want to rip my CD's into ogg's and play on my computer, then that is my business. If I want to rip the content of a DVD that I own and turn it into a DIVX CDR so that I can watch it on my laptop, again, that's my business.
If I want to read the dialog off the DVD and play it audibly as juicy ass farts, again, that is nobodies concern but my own. And believe me, if I started doing that, I would definately be concerned.
The media outlets want to limit our rights and divide us into smaller and smaller markets, which they maintain a full monopoly on. They want to make it so we can't see anything without paying them royalties on it. And they want a royalty everytime we do so.
They are just losing any goodwill they had with the consumers. They tend to forget just how valuable goodwill is. It can make or break the richest of companies. Beware and bewarned media conglomerates, it is almost time for us to pay you back for all those abuses you have been heaping on us lately. And payback is a bitch. It'll start with judges that don't stay bought and go downhill from there.
-- Never make a general statement.
What about games that are released in Japan, but not in the US? The way I see it, if Sony US isn't willing to sell me what I want, I should be able to go to Sony Japan and get it.
That's how it works with just about every other type of product - if one company (or branch thereof) won't sell you what you want, you go to one who will.
With all this new crap - Region Coding, etc... we're being denied our right to choose who to buy from. They basically say "Well, we have this game, but we won't sell it to you - and we won't let you play it, even if you can get a copy of it from someone else".
I don't agree with the piracy-enabling chips - although I'm not exactly sure how to balance that with the fact that making backups should be possible, especially for those with kids who tend to destroy the (rather costly) game discs. I do, however, think that it should be perfectly legal to use an import-enabling chip to play non-US release games.
Why can't I legally play an imported PS2 game (which I probably paid a goodly premium for) on a modded PS2? I've voided my warranty if I mod the PS2, Sony still gets their money from the original software sale, the reseller gets their money from the sale to me, and I get to try to decipher the hirigana and kanjii in a vain attempt to understand just what the heck it is I've bought. Seems like everyone gets what they want in this circumstance.
Because under Section 17 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents act 1988 you specifically have no intrinsic right to make a transient copy even if that transient copy is necessary for the use of the product - that is, reading the contents of a CD into memory is unauthorised copying. It is assumed that you are implicitly granted permission from the copyright holder when you purchase the product, but as of yesterday's ruling this is assumed to only apply to the country where you bought it. As a result, you are legally permitted to import a game for personal use, but copying that game into your system's memory in order to play it is illegal unless the copyright holder specifically grants you permission to do so.
This quite possibly applies to imported DVDs, too.
Don't attribute motivations to the judge which he does not express himself. The simplest interpretation (poor laws in this case) will usually be the correct one. Lower courts will almost always just follow the letter of the law.
I bought a Japanese PS2 when I was in Japan last spring. I bought it because I prefer to play games that involve voices, (like Final Fantasy X) in Japanese. It's sort of the same reason why I, like many others, prefer subtitled over dubbed anime.
In addition, there are several games that are never will be released in America. True Love Story 3 is a perfect example. The fabulous Tokimeki Memorial series on the PS1 are other games that will never be released here. These games would never sell in America, but I enjoy playing them.
Also, I was able to play Gran Turismo 3 several months before I could have in America.
So now, I have this Japanese PS2 and despite my best efforts, I had yet to find a way to play American games! I still can't play Metal Gear Solid 2 and I've been wanting to play SSX Tricky for a long time. I have no desire to pirate games - just be able to purchase both imports and American games and play them on my PS2. I know this is possible, but SONY is making it quite difficult for us!
I don't care about what British copyright law says, but American copyright law has "fair use" built into it which gives me some rights over what I can do with copyrighted material I've purchased. This includes making back-up copies for myself, or playing a game on a foreign or even custom-made playstation.
I'm still searching for a way to play American games on my PS2. I have a little box that plugs in to the USB port that lets me play American PS1 games on it, but I haven't been able to get American PS2 games to work. I thought a "game shark" might help, but it turns out that those too, are region coded. Anyone have any ideas?
However, the idea of the licence rather than buy scam is the claim that while you own the media, you don't own what is written on it.
Where the real scam bit comes in is if the media gets damaged or if the same IP becomes available on a different media.
If it was simply the case that you had a licence to the IP then, replacements of damaged media would be at cost as would changing media.