Mod Chippers Ordered to Pay $9 Million in Fines

GameDaily is reporting that that ESA is announcing a major victory against game software piracy in California. A judge has handed down over $9 Million in fines to Divineo Inc., some employees, and international subsidiaries. From the article: "The defendants had apparently violated the DMCA by trafficking mod chips and the HDLoader software application that enables users to copy whole video games to a console's hard drive ... Mod chips then can be used to allow a console to play illegally obtained/pirated games. Both the mod chips and HDLoader application therefore circumvent the copyright protection technology built into video game consoles and video game software and are in direct violation of the DMCA."

Comments

Reasonable doubt?

[Temuar Skylari]

From TFA: "Once the entire video game file is on the console's hard drive it probably isn't too difficult for a hacker to transfer it to his PC and then illegally distribute it on the web." PROBABLY? I'm no cracker, so I have no idea how easy or difficult this is, but COME ON. I seriously hope nobody got fined for theoretical damages caused by distributing a game online when the only evidence was that they had copied it to their console's HD.

I have a dream...

[dolson]

I dream of a day when I won't have to get off my couch to put the legally-purchased games I own into my game console, stream video, pictures, and music from my Linux PC, check the weather, etc. all without the use of these law-breaking modchips. I guess the Wii has a lot of that covered, and probably the PS3 and 360, I don't know. But for me, I really am THAT lazy, that I don't wanna switch the discs. :) That's a benefit of using a modchip even to those who don't pirate software.

Re:I have a dream...

[Some_Llama]

"That's a benefit of using a modchip even to those who don't pirate software."

Or have kids who regularly play on a console swapping out discs 3 or 4 times a day and manage to sratch them to the point of unreadability in a matter of weeks.

Re:I have a dream...

[cplusplus]

That, and ultra fast load times. A 7200 RPM hard drive is a LOT faster than a DVD drive. So, by modding, you end up with a console that requires no disk switching (and thus no risk of scratched media) and loads game data about 10x as fast. It was a win-win-win for my XBox :)

Re:I have a dream...

[dgatwood]

There must be a million sources. The primary purpose for requiring special encryption and stuff on games has always been to force companies to pay a licensing fee to the console manufacturer. It's well documented. Heck, just read Wikipedia or read about any of the many reverse engineering lawsuits related to Nintendo and other companies over the years.

Technology to crack DVDs is explicitly forbidden under the DMCA, but publishing unencrypted DVDs is quite possible (and done regularly). As seen in the Australian courts (and I think it will hold up in U.S. court if it ever gets high enough), the technologies used in video games are the exact opposite. Instead of protecting the content, they protect the devices against using unprotected content. This is a fundamentally different action by console makers, and one that cannot be justifiably protected by law. Clearly, modding games to not check to see if the game is a legit copy is a DMCA violation. Modding hardware to make it allow you to use unprotected content (which may or may not be pirated) is completely different.

We no longer own the things we buy.

[rolfwind]

These firms are being punished in the same way a lockpicking tool company is being punished in that the tools they sell can be used for evil.

However, modding has not started with computers, people have always modded. They modded cars, their houses, their radios, their tools, and anything else they have bought. And all of these mods have potentially illegal uses.

Imagine if Honda struck back against Aftermarket makers, using the DMCA, and telling people that only "Honda certified" parts are allowed in the vehicles honda bought.

I can't help but think that electronics companies are getting a free ride from the government here.

Take a Hint

[Anonymous Coward]

Although I can see their point of not wanting piracy, don't they notice what people are actually doing? Aren't they making their consoles do what they want them too? I have to admit, if I saw my console, one I manufactured, being modded with face plates that read off disk space and allow games to be moved to the drive, etc, wouldn't it be smarter to build these in myself and charge more for the device? Obviously you should put in safeguards, but learn from what is going on around you and adapt your product to your customer. Isn't this a lesson in Business 101?

Export till there's nothing left to export.

[Anonymous Coward]

First I thought the americans were exporting the concept of freedom, but I soon came to realize they're actually giving their own away.

Re:authoritative ignorance

[91degrees]

The right people are making judgements. The wrong people are making laws. It's a pretty clear DMCA violation whether you agree with the law or not.

Clueless Judges and Layers.

[plasmacutter]

Until we pressure our government into requiring justices presiding over an issue to have at least a bachelor's degree in the theory behind the issue we will not see this kind of nuance considered at all.

At this point even the lawyers involved can't fully grasp what's going on enough to understand the subtle but important difference you've just outlined (unless theyre from the EFF, then they just don't know how to play the legal game correctly).

The fact that we have such important issues to consumer rights and personal freedom judged and debated by complete morons is proof positive that "god" cannot be perfectly compassionate and just.