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Sony Sues Over PSP Imports

Posted by Zonk on from the multimillion-dollar-oops dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Although the official European launch isn't until September, Europeans have already been able to buy imported PSPs. Sony has sent out a batch of cease and desist letters, claiming that selling the PSP without permission violates their trademarks. The Register reports on the legal fight between Sony and online retailler ElectricBirdLand." From the article: "The Japanese manufacturer is claiming infringement of Trade Mark. But one reseller at the receiving end of the legal nastygrams, ElectricBirdLand, claims that key technologies, trademarks and software utilised in Sony's new portable gaming platform have not even been registered by Sony in the UK. For example, the PSP trademark has apparently been registered by a small Bristol-based IT and design firm, called Owtanet."

12 of 45 comments (clear)

  1. Why should Sony be able to dictate this? by SamNmaX · · Score: 4, Insightful
    This is silly. Why should it be illegal to import legally purchased PSPs for resale in another country? When a distributor gets exclusive rights from Sony, that should be limited only to the PSPs received by them. That is, Sony won't sell to other distributers.

    However, once they are out of Sony's hands, who are they to say who can buy and sell it? As well, how is it trademark infringement? Sony has already gotten their money. They should have no right to this kind of control.

    1. Re:Why should Sony be able to dictate this? by FictionPimp · · Score: 2, Insightful

      And that fact is why a global economy will never work, because nobody wants it. Fair trade is only fair when your the one on top.

  2. Sony should chill out by alias420 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    There are a ton of people from europe over at the PSP Hacks forums. It's not like these units are being stolen and sold, Sony is still making their money. They should chill out.

  3. Beyond stupid by Jarlsberg · · Score: 4, Insightful
    Parallell importing/grey imports are strictly for the hard core gamers. There is no chance this will hurt Sonys sales target when the PSP is eventually released in Europe. Going after the importers is just stupid, because they are getting the units out to the innovators, and they can often make or break a product.

    It's just daft of Sony to wait so long before they release it in Europe. As long as Sony is unable to satisfy the demand, someone else will supply the goods. Sony can cry foul all they want for all the good it will do them.

  4. What's mine is your? by Zarian · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I do not know what reselling laws are in other countries, but last I checked once I purchased a product, whether it be a pizza, car or Computer I am now OWNER of said product. Therefore I can do whatever the hell I want with it.

    1. Re:What's mine is your? by kannibal_klown · · Score: 3, Informative
      I do not know what reselling laws are in other countries, but last I checked once I purchased a product, whether it be a pizza, car or Computer I am now OWNER of said product. Therefore I can do whatever the hell I want with it.

      Depends. Retailers don't just go onto a webpage and order x-thousand PSP's so they can sell them at various outlets. They usually contact a distributor (perhaps Sony itself) and hash out an agreement to sell PSP's. These agreements are in the form of contracts with stipulations that must be followed.
      For example:
      • Retail chain A decides it wants to sell PSP's
      • Retail chain B contacts Sony and lets them know of their intent.
      • Sony agrees, but makes them sign a contract.
        • Contract states the quantity or pricing scale for PSP units.
        • Term 1 says Retailer A cannot sell to certain countries where PSP has not been officially released.
        • MAYBE Term 2 says Retailer cannot sell en-masse to a 3rd party retailer. That 3rd party retailer must contact an official distributor or Sony itself.
      • Retail A sells PSP's to 3rd party B in another country
      • Sony gets pissy because selling to certain countries is in breach of contract.

      I'm not saying this is the case here. But retailers have to jump through hoops where-as consumers just have to shell out the cash.
  5. Re:Hmm... by sesshomaru · · Score: 4, Informative
    They aren't money grubbing scumbags, it's a different acronym, see their Website:

    PSP® E-Commerce

    In fact, this shouldn't affect Sony's trademark at all, since Sony is tradmarking a portable media player, and they have trademarked an ecommerce solution. The trademarks don't overlap.

    --
    "MIT betrayed all of its basic principles."
  6. I know UK copyright law fairly well... by Landak · · Score: 2, Insightful

    And there is no way in hell that case would ever succeed. The whole 'free market' that we're lead to believe we have (though don't believe we actually have one) does kind of apply; it's identical to a shop buying products from someone else, and selling them on at profit. It's trade. It's commerce. I'm surprised the chamber(s) of commerce haven't got up in arms about this....

    --
    My UID is prime. Is yours?
    1. Re:I know UK copyright law fairly well... by Andy_R · · Score: 2, Informative

      If you knew the law well, you'd know about the Tesco v Levi case, where Levi pulled exactly the same crap to stop us from buying 501s at real-world prices and won.

      Here's the BBC's write up on the case

      --
      A pizza of radius z and thickness a has a volume of pi z z a
  7. This is just stupid... by Man+In+Black · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Here's an idea Sony: Instead of wasting money on pointless lawsuits that are going to piss off the people who are willing to go the the extra time and expense to get your product, how about putting that money towards speeding up the official European launch? If your product was actually available there, then people wouldn't be forced to do this.

    --
    -"One machine can do the work of fifty ordinary men. No machine can do the work of one extraordinary man." -EH
  8. Re:Uh-Oh by MMaestro · · Score: 2, Insightful
    Peer-to-peer Shopping/Shipping Protection?
    Portable Shooting Practice?
    Precision Shot Projectile?

    Its not hard to come up with something with the initials PSP.

  9. Except for the fact that Sony LOSES money... by MMaestro · · Score: 2, Insightful
    for each PSP unit sold. The general rule of thumb in the video game industry (with Nintendo being an exception and Sega totally failing at this) is to sell the system at a loss (see: Xbox and the gaping hole of lost money) and make it all back and more with the software SOLD. (see: PS1 and PS2's insanely huge and lucrative libraries.)

    Hacks, homebrewed games and utilities make NO profit for any company unless the system is sold at a profit. There is no 'well its a victory in marketing' because Sega tried the same thing and was crushed utterly by Sony with the Dreamcast.