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Xbox Modders Charged Under DMCA
JamesAlfaro wrote to mention a News.com article about a pair of game store owners charged with Xbox modding. From the article: "Jason Jones and Jonathan Bryant, two Los Angeles residents who own the ACME Game Store on Melrose Ave., allegedly sold Xbox game systems that had been modified by Pei Cai, of Pico Rivera, Calif. Cai allegedly equipped the Xbox consoles with modification chips and large hard drives to allow the user to copy rented or borrowed games onto the device for future playback. Buyers would pay from $225 to more than $500 for the changes."
From TFA:
During the investigation, undercover agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement paid $265 to have a modification chip, a hard drive and 77 pirated games installed on an Xbox, according to the criminal complaint.
Like I said on digg this morning when this was posted there, no wonder they were charged, and quite rightly too.
This is not a "Your rights online" story, it's a story about blatent copyright violation.
From TFA:
During the investigation, undercover agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement paid $265 to have a modification chip, a hard drive and 77 pirated games installed on an Xbox, according to the criminal complaint.
I'd have a lot more sympathy for them if there weren't for the pirated games installed as part of the purchase. Real stupid move there.
I tried every decent and legal way I could think of to resolve the issue w/the business before I rented the chicken suit
Hold on, it wasn't mainly the modding that they got nailed for. If you RTFA'd or read about it earlier, they were selling the modded Xboxes with pirated games. I hate the DMCA as much as anyone else, but these guys are in the wrong here.
I am Spartacus
If you read closely, they're not only invoking DMCA for pirated games, but also the modchip itself (conspiring to circumvent...).
This could set a precedent that means the end of:
TiVo mods
Linux on XBOX
Tinkering with Trusted Computing (!)
Pretty much modifying any hardware with basic protections
It would have been nice to see that information in the headline. Seems a little important to the story. I suppose we could debate the legality of 'modding' chips? Or would that be off-topic?
/shurg
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That's about 76 more than the number of worthwhile games available for the Xbox. They got ripped off. =)
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It still seems right to criticize the DMCA to me. It isn't necessary to get pirates but it does criminalize a whole range of activities that really shouldn't be illegal.
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I don't have a lot of sympathy for these guys because obviously they were doing more than modding consoles. But is a 5 year prison sentence appropriate for this? I'm not sure how prison sentences work in California, but in Canada a 5 year sentence doesn't neccesarily mean you spend 5 years behind bars. I just think that a civil remedy would probably be just as effective (i.e. sue for damages). I'm obviously not a lawyer - I just think half a decade of unwilling participation might be overboard for small scale piracy.
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1. You need to get a hacked bios that lets you boot soemthing else besides the DVD drive
2. you need to run some sort of dashboard. (basically a menu manager on which programs to launch.
Since all of these are built with an piece of software that MS owns, and is not licensened to build "homebrew" software its still technically not legal to get this software. That is why this software is not availiable for blatent download, you have to do a little bit of digging.
Now ethically I have no problem with the abouve steps to lets say get xbox media center working (my favorite reason for my xbox). But I think the store selling the box with games is totally wrong and just blatent copyright infringement/theft, depending on the camp you talk to. People worked hard on the games, and they deserve to get paid, just like you deserve to get paid at your work for what you do.
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Uhh damn! Looks like everyone has RTFA!?! I suppose the editors will have to take that into consideration next time they post a summary...
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I'm intrested in what game programmers / creators think of the penalties that could be imposed. Would you prefer a large fine to jail time?
I disagree - why isn't this bought up as copyright infringement instead? It's clearly that. Why bring the DMCA into this?
Other than to set precedent, of course. Where the corporations will start nailing more gray area cases, later on.
To elaborate, this is the exact charge that could set a precident that scares me: "conspiring to traffic in a technology used to circumvent a copyright protection system". For a long time, Linux on xbox was considered legal as no code was stolen. Only the copy protection system was broken, using flaws in the hardware (unlike DeCSS). No actual code is altered in the process. This could also prevent people who prefer their privacy from disabling Trusted Computing. Generally, the rule of thumb has been "you bought the hardware, you can do whatever you want with it as long as you don't touch our software". This would change that.
No.
Selling 77 unauthorized copies of software was illegal before the DMCA.
The only time we cheer for the DMCA is when we actually come to believe that it should be illegal to break encryption that was specifically designed to deprive honest customers of their fair use rights.
Another point is that 200 gigs ain't cheap. I'll bet the lion's share of the $265 they spent went to the chip and drive, leaving the modders with a less-than-exorbitant fee for their work. And there is _no_ appropriate use for the DMCA because the DMCA is an unjust law. The law that should be applied here is copyright infringement - not hacking with the consent of the owner (which is what the DMCA prohibits).
Yes it was. Read the article:
The three men are being accused of "conspiring to traffic in a technology used to circumvent a copyright protection system and conspiring to commit criminal copyright infringement," in violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California.
It sounds like that's exactly what they were busted for...
If you RTFA'd or read about it earlier, they were selling the modded Xboxes with pirated games. I hate the DMCA as much as anyone else, but these guys are in the wrong here.
Waitaminnit, we cant just say 'they broke the law and they deserve whatever they get'. We really need to look at this a little more deeply.
They illegally distributed 77 copies of games. You dont need the DMCA to bust people for that, copyright law already covers that infraction, right? So why invoke the unholy spectre of the DMCA?
These guys are facing 5 years prison for this. What sort of punishments would these dudes be receiving if they had sold modded Xboxen with no pre-loaded games? Or what if they had sold the 77 games on DVD-R, without also providing the mod-chips and hard-drives? IOW, are prosecuters using DMCA as a way of going after harsher punishments that would otherwise be impossible under plain-old copyright law?
Currently, mod-chips are technically illegal under the DMCA, but it begs the question 'Should mod-chips themselves be illegal'? If not, then doesnt that throw this whole story in a different light? These guys deserve punishment, without a doubt, but they deserve fair punishment.
That's why this topic should be discussed on slashdot. If you really hate the DMCA, as you claim, then you should closely examine every application of it.
oh yeah, IANAL etc etc.
I work at a jail, and I don't think anyone that commits such a non violent crime should be sent there. Fined, or community service? That's more resonable.
Really, I mean, is the world a better place with a couple of xbox modders that violated copyright behind bars? I'd rather have them out there working and paying taxes rather then soak them up in jail.
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