SCEE Win Legal Battle with Pirates News
Chris Leyton
21/07/2004
SCEE confirm a "comprehensive" victory in the long-running feud with Playstation2 modders…
Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) has recently confirmed winning a ācomprehensiveā victory in its lengthy battle against the chipping of Playstation2 consoles.
The judge overruling the case, Mr Justice Laddie, ruled that the defendant, David Ball, had behaved unlawfully with the sale and distribution of 1,500 Messiah 2 Modification Chips to customers within the UK.
The presiding judge went on to confirm that using such devices, knowing that they allow you to bypass the consoles protection measures to play pirated or copyright games, is unlawful; whilst confirming that the promotion and possession for commercial purposes is also illegal.
The case is a landmark event within the tangled long-running dispute, as it is the first to be brought to the UK under the law relating to the circumvention of copy protection and technical copyright measures, following the UKās implementation of the EU Copyright Directive in October 2003. The successful outcome of the case will set a precedent throughout the European Union, granting prosecutors additional confidence to proceed.
Commenting on the success of the court action, David Reeves, President of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe said, "This case, together with the recent successful criminal case against chippers in Belgium, confirms in the clearest possible terms that Sony Computer Entertainment Europe has the right to prevent the illegal infringement of our intellectual property rights, and those of third party games developers. We are sending a clear message to manufacturers and distributors of mod chips throughout the PAL territories that we will continue to pursue legal action against them".