[Playstation] PS2 modder defeats mighty Sony

The Inquirer ^ | July 30, 2002 | Inquirer Staff

[JameRetief]

PS2 modder defeats mighty Sony

Aussie court allows console DVD mod

By INQUIRER staff: Monday 29 July 2002, 17:43

EDDY STEVENS is the man who took on Sony and won. Sony had Eddy up in front of the beak in a Sydney court claiming that his fiddling with PS2s was illegal. But in a victory for modders everywhere - except maybe in the UK -- Stevens got off with fitting a mod chip to the console.

Stevens' modding antics allowed his customers to view mutlti-region DVDs on their PS2s and Johnson argued that his action would allow users to play legitimate copies of DVD bought abroad and use their own back-up copies which also wouldn't run on the system without his mod.

The Aussie court ruled that Sony's region coding system went beyond the provisions of Australia's Copyright Act, and therefore found that Stevens' modding actions were within the law.

A miffed Sony said it was "disappointed" with the decision and was considerinig an appeal. It pointed to a recent decision in the UK High Court in which Sony's complaint against Messiah modders "Paul Owen and Others" was upheld. Here are some of the transcripts for that case.

A spokesman for the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, which helped Johnson fight the lawsuit, said Australian consumers could now, "enjoy games legitimately bought overseas, as well as authorized backup copies, by legally having their consoles chipped."

Sony said, "Pah!" we imagine. µ

[Dimensio]

Fortunately we have laws in the US that prevent consumers from tampering with their own electronic hardware, thanks to the DMCA and the corporate shill^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^HCongressmen who passed it.

[Vast Buffalo Wing Conspiracy]

Australia may be f***ed up in other ways (ie, gun laws, for instance), but at least their courts still uphold fair use rights, and don't let the IP holders get away with increasing their IP "rights" at the public's expense.

[Bush2000]

Care for some cheese with your whine?

[Dimensio]

I take it that you are in favour of laws that prohibit consumers from modifying their own computer equipment?

[Bush2000]

I take it that you are in favour of laws that prohibit consumers from modifying their own computer equipment?

It depends. If the purpose of the modifications is to make it easier to enable piracy or violate copyrights, then you're damned right I support those laws.

[steve-b]

Sorry, the folks in favor of trigger locks are over in the DUmpster....

[Dimensio]

And if the modification could possibly facilitate piracy but also has legitimate uses (as modchips do)?

[Bush2000]

Sorry, the folks in favor of trigger locks are over in the DUmpster....

Look, if you're going to use an analogy, at least use something that makes sense. Nobody is proposing "mods" to trigger locks -- or ever has.

[Bush2000]

And if the modification could possibly facilitate piracy but also has legitimate uses (as modchips do)?

Then I'm opposed to it. You can obviously argue that the current law is wrong and should be changed. But don't argue that you should have the right to ignore it if you feel like it.

[lavaroise]

Punish the abusers, not the users, please. What about kids? Some people have'em to molest'em.

[steve-b]

And if the modification could possibly facilitate piracy but also has legitimate uses (as modchips do)?
Then I'm opposed to it.

Ah, the trigger lock analogy is proven to be a 100% accurate representation of your position.

You can obviously argue that the current law is wrong and should be changed. But don't argue that you should have the right to ignore it if you feel like it.

Move on back and shet yer mouth, Miz Parks....

[Bush2000]

Ah, the trigger lock analogy is proven to be a 100% accurate representation of your position.

You have yet to describe who is providing "mods" to trigger locks...

Move on back and shet yer mouth, Miz Parks....

Listen to stevie-boy: equating civil rights with "mod" chips. If it weren't so pathetic, it would almost be funny...

[Bush2000]

Punish the abusers, not the users, please.

You expect the government to serve warrants on everyone who buys one of these "mod" chips -- as opposed to the single guy who's defying the law? Dude, lay off the crack.

What about kids? Some people have'em to molest'em.

Call the mother ship. They're looking for you.

[Timesink]

Fortunately we have laws in the US that prevent consumers from tampering with their own electronic hardware, thanks to the DMCA and the corporate shill^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^HCongressmen who passed it.

Laws that are completely unenforceable. If you want to add a mod to your DVD player, a quick search on Google will probably pull up complete instructions for overriding regional codes for your model.

[Dimensio]

Yep. I recently -- and unexpectedly -- discovered that there's a region hack available for my Panasonic RP56, so now I have a great progressive scan player that can play discs from anywhere (once I attach the chip).

If I cared about the DMCA, I'd delete every copy of the decss source code that I had lying about on my computer.

[Dimensio]

So you believe that Judge Kaplan was right in ruling against 2600 and ruling that the DeCSS source code violated the law because it could possibly be used to facilitate in movie piracy (even though it was written with completely benign intent: playing DVD movies on an operating system unsupported by any existing DVD playback software)?

What about explaining how to bypass the CD-ROM drive lockout on some Sony audio CDs by drawing a line with a Sharpie marker? Under the DMCA, that's illegal (both doing it and explaining it) because it could be used to rip the music tracks for circumventing copyright -- of course, it could also simply be done for the purpose of making the CD work in a computer so that a user can actually listen to the audio.

[Always Right]

It depends. If the purpose of the modifications is to make it easier to enable piracy or violate copyrights, then you're damned right I support those laws.

But what about region coding? I have never understood why you could only play a DVD in a certain regions.

[Bush2000]

So you believe that Judge Kaplan was right in ruling against 2600 and ruling that the DeCSS source code violated the law because it could possibly be used to facilitate in movie piracy (even though it was written with completely benign intent: playing DVD movies on an operating system unsupported by any existing DVD playback software)?

Yes, Kaplan was right. The proper thing would be for RedHat, Mandrake, etc to properly license drivers from MPAA. RedHat and other Linux distros obviously don't want to do that because they would have to pay for the license -- like the rest of the OEM world does on Windows and the Mac. There's nothing which says that Linux distros can't distribute binary DVD drivers. DVD is a proprietary technology. This is the fundamental problem when the freeware world confronts commercial reality.

What about explaining how to bypass the CD-ROM drive lockout on some Sony audio CDs by drawing a line with a Sharpie marker? Under the DMCA, that's illegal (both doing it and explaining it) because it could be used to rip the music tracks for circumventing copyright -- of course, it could also simply be done for the purpose of making the CD work in a computer so that a user can actually listen to the audio.

I agree that it's illegal under a strict interpretation of the law. But it is a fact that there are limits to which the government will go to enforce its own laws. I believe that this is one example. But get this straight: The fact that it is easy to break the law doesn't give you a moral imperative to do so.

[Bush2000]

But what about region coding? I have never understood why you could only play a DVD in a certain regions.

It has to do with marketing. Movie studios don't release their products in all foreign markets simultaneously. It takes time to convert soundtracks, advertising, liners, and dialogue into foreign languages. The studios want to be able to control which markets their products will be released into so that they can time promotions and advertising. It's about maximizing their own revenue. And, frankly, that is their right. The MPAA had a hand in creating the technology. They have a right to decide how it will be used.