Posted on 12/21/2005 9:55:50 AM PST by BurbankKarl
U.S. prosecutors have charged three men with copyright infringement for allegedly selling modified Xbox consoles that enabled the original video game machine from Microsoft to play pirated games. The criminal complaint filed in federal court in Los Angeles on Monday named ACME Game Store co-owners Jason Jones, 34, and Jonathan Bryant, 44, as well as Pei "Patrick" Cai, 32.
The complaint alleges that Jones and Bryant sold Xbox systems that Cai modified with chips and hard drives that allowed people to copy rented or borrowed games onto the console for future play.
All three men are charged with one felony count of conspiracy to commit copyright infringement and to violate the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. The charge of conspiracy carries a maximum possible penalty of five years in federal prison.
Lawyers for the men, who will be summoned to appear in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles in late January, could not be immediately reached for comment.
Jones and Bryant demonstrated the modified Xbox game consoles in their Melrose Avenue store. They charged from $225 to more than $500 for the modifications, depending on the extent of the modifications and the number of games preloaded onto the hard drive, according to a statement from prosecutors and the complaint affidavit obtained by Reuters.
In other news: Scammers jingle all the way Playing favorites on the Net? AOL gets $1 billion boost from Google 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.
Microsoft released the Xbox 360, the new version of its game console, on Nov. 22 in North America. The premium version of the system sells for $400 and is sold-out at many retail outlets.
The original Xbox was released in late 2001 and now retails for around $150. Games for the system cost up to $50 each.
ping
I bet Milton Bradley is rolling over in his grave, hearing that people can go to jail for tampering with a game.
If I buy a clock-radio that I want to make into a CD player by using parts from my portable CD player, I should be able to. GE can't come and sue me for modifying MY radio. If I want to add MP3 player capabilities to it, I can with off the shelf parts, the same rules apply to X-Box.
You can't play games you've borrowed?
In other news: Scammers jingle all the way Playing favorites on the Net? AOL gets $1 billion boost from Google During the investigation, undercover agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement paid $265 to have a modification chip, a hard drive and 77 pirated games installed on an Xbox, according to the criminal complaint.
I have no sympathy for the MPAA/RIAA/M$ etc... But this is the part I support. Modding shouldn't be an issue, but 77 pirated games certainly is.
These "mod chips" aren't the issue. You're right, you have the legal right to do whatever you want with an XBox you pay for.
The law is broken because modded XBoxes have a hacked version of the Microsoft COPYRIGHTED BIOS on them. (I know this because *cough* a friend of mine has a modded XBox.)
This modified BIOS causes the XBox to recognize a far larger hard drive than the one that ships with the system, and permits copying RENTED games or borrowed games to this larger hard drive, effectively allowing the owner to keep a game on the system he never paid for.
This second issue is called theft and/or software piracy.
To summarize, you DO have the right to mod your XBox. As soon as you drop a hacked BIOS on it, you are in violation of federal law, and will be prosecuted if caught. You exacerbate the crime if you choose to use your illegal XBox to pirate software.
They can GO TO JAIL, GO DIRECTLY TO JAIL. DO NOT PASS GO. DO NOT COLLECT $200.,..................
Now if they were just selling the chips and instructions on how to modify the system boards, that's another story, as that, then, becomes a private property issue. If this were an issue, we'd have a society spiraling out of control in a litigious quagmire where everyone can sue anyone for anything at any time. We wouldn't want that now, would we... wait...
/sarcasmOff
You seem to be a little too sensitive for the holiday season...you need to relax, and try to find some humor in things.
Oh I have humor. FREAKIN OODLES OF FREAKIN HUMOR!!!!!
;)
Is this right, though? The BIOS chips are removable EEPROMs that can be replaced, no? I've replaced BIOS chips in my comps all the time, but does a proprietary BIOS on a proprietarily run board mean that you can't pop out the BIOS and replace it with, say, an Award or Phoenix BIOS? If the board boots, it's ok, right?
I'd imagine if you popped the BIOS EEPROM out, put it into a reader and re-engineered the BIOS AROUND the proprietary system, then you'd be in violation.
In this case, I believe the "mod chip" they're talking about is something that has to be soldered onto the mainboard and circumvents certain registered media protections to allow burned games to be played. That is illegal, I believe, but I contend the BIOS switchout wouldn't be. Any thoughts?
I take it the caps were just raucus laughter??!!
"This modification may be illegal. But what does ICE have to do with modifying X-boxes? This appears to have happened in the United States. Aren't there some illegal aliens they should be catching?"
That's Immigration and CUSTOMS Enforcement. Selling hacked toys is a trade issue (potentially high dollar too) and that would explain the ICE involvement.
Merry Christmas,
Top sends
I thought he just signed with the A's? ;)
You are correct in that a BIOS switchout is not illegal in and of itself. The BIOS itself is Microsoft intellectual property, and has been reverse-engineered and modified to support the altered XBox. As you stated, this is what makes it illegal.
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