Australian Federal Court Overturns Legal Modchip Sales 177
An anonymous reader writes "Yesterday, the Australian Federal Court overruled the previous ruling on modchips in Australia. I am pretty sure the overruled case is the mainstay for the 'legal' use of modchips in Australia (predominantly Linux on the Xbox). Haven't seen this hit the media yet, with the exception of the Australian Financial Review referring to it in the Free Trade Agreement context. The ruling can be found here. Although not a lawyer, it appears the original judgement was made on the basis that Sony did not provide a copy protection system. Also noted is that there is limited commercial use for the mod other than circumvention. Wonder what will happen to modchips for the Xbox, given that it can be argued that running Linux could easily be seen as commercial."
Reader silne adds "According to the article in The Australian's IT section, it's not illegal to possess or use a mod chip, just illegal to sell them. Looks like another win for Sony. Hopefully the ACCC is going to appeal this one." Bigthecat supplies a link to coverage at news.com.au, as well.
like it matters much (Score:1)
Re:like it matters much (Score:5, Insightful)
Well it won't actually take much for the Australian Police to find them. Some people at a place I used to work ordered XBox mod chips from overseas, and before they were allowed to receive them through customs they had to give their name, residential address and I think drivers license number to ensure that they as recipients were properly identified.
At the time however it wasn't clear as to why this information was needed, other than the fact that they ordered mod chips of course. At the time they did this mod chips were considered legal.
I hope the ACCC in Australia does something for the Australian people, as we all know that the primary purpose of the "security" of consoles is to provide for the construction of artificial markets to decrease competition and raise prices for consumers and revenue for the companies that manufacture them.
The thing that that hacks me off, is that console makers bundle the region encoding along with their security. Region encoding has nothing to do with security and everything to do with creating false markets which is something that should not be tolerated. Its about high time that the manufactures of these devices were forced to abandon region encoding all together so that consumers have the choice of what to purchase and where. The same goes for DVDs.
I will of course freely admit that most peoples use of mod chips however is for piracy which is not an act that I condone or participate in. I would be more than happy to have a console with strong security and no region locking. Its high time that these companies realise thats whats good for consumers is good for them. Stuffing consumers around will only hurt these companies in the long run.
Rant over
Re:like it matters much (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:like it matters much (Score:4, Insightful)
Of course in this specific case they guy was selling copied games as well as mod chips. If he would have just sold mod chips and not sold the obviously illegal games things might have turned out different. The circumstances show his intent.
Of course with the Australian legal system he now gets to pay Sony's costs (and QCs don't come cheap). And of course then there's damages, but that comes later (and of course there's still room for appeal to the High Court - but losing there would further increase costs).
Oh well, I'll have to stick to PC games and skip on the PS2...
Re:like it matters much (Score:3, Insightful)
Q.
ACCC might not do anything (Score:5, Insightful)
their press release is encouraging (Score:4, Informative)
So much for Aussie egalitarianism.... (Score:1, Funny)
Re:So much for Aussie egalitarianism.... (Score:1, Funny)
The judgement was for sony modchips.... (Score:2, Insightful)
The PS and PS/2 modchips basically allow pirated game discs to be played, without any other real use. The XBox case might be handled differently.
Re:The judgement was for sony modchips.... (Score:2)
The PS and PS/2 modchips basically allow pirated game discs to be played, without any other real use. The XBox case might be handled differently.
Wasn't DVD region coding an issue? I seem to remember that being the ACCs argument for the mod chips around the time of the original decision.
Re:The judgement was for sony modchips.... (Score:1)
I'm not much of a gamer anymore, but don't they also allow one to play games not released in the region of his console? I think I wound up with about as many Japanese games as American for my Dreamcast, and easily more for the saturn before that. I'll agree that playing games from outside the intended area is still circumvention of the region lockouts, but I wouldn't place it anywhere near the same area as piracy.
Re:The judgement was for sony modchips.... (Score:2, Insightful)
However, I have two reasons why I want modchips to be legal (or at the very least region-locking of PS2's to be gone).
I currently live and work in Japan. I have been buying lots of japanese PS2 games while here. Next year I will return to Australia.
1) A lot of these games have not and never will be released in Australia, because the games market is so much smaller than in Japan. The only way around this is to own a japan
Region coding (Score:2)
Using regioncoding they can still sell shitty outdated, overpriced games in Europe and Australia.
Re:The judgement was for sony modchips.... (Score:2, Insightful)
In the USA there are many legal uses for circumvention--playing backups is one of them.
Re:The judgement was for sony modchips.... (Score:5, Insightful)
I'm not a big fan of current modding efforts because they're negative-ruling-bait. However, I must argue with this point. Sony's release of the Linux pack for the PS2 is certainly not the end of that argument. It is limited, you cannot distribute Linux apps to other PS2 owners unless they have the $200 kit as well. Worse, you have limited access to the hardware.
What's really hurting the MOD development for the PS2 is that there really isn't a whole lot of reason to do it. Play any region DVD? Well the law's not going to side with that. Play MAME? Nope, law's not going to side with that either. Play MP3s or DivX videos? That area's a bit gray, but there's the issue of how those Mp3s or DivX vids are acquired.
I agree with your first point, but the second one is probably what earned ya the troll rating. Pity the dude with the mod point didn't just respond, its not like you were out to be a jerk. There's a difference between trolling and having an unpopular opinion.
Re:The judgement was for sony modchips.... (Score:2)
The ACCC in Australia has already deemed that region encoding is against the Australian Trade Practices Act. This ruling doesn't change that.
I can still argue that a region encoding mod "ONLY" is legal I believe.
Not a troll; good argument! (Score:2)
From the headline: "Wonder what will happen to modchips for the Xbox, given that it can be argued that running Linux could easily be seen as commercial."
Someone explain that little pearl to me. Either the submitter doesn't know what 'commercial' means, or is simply making a huge stretch to justify X-Box mod chips.
The fact remains that while there will always be a few hobbyists who actually do use these things to run Linux on
Re:The judgement was for sony modchips.... (Score:2)
A console is essentially a computer. These days very much so. There are tons of uses for computers and the fact that I bought it makes it mine and I use it to satisfy my needs. This is no different from buying any other stuff. Gadgets gets used for things not intended by the manufacturer even though most people use there consoles to play games on.
Who cares a
Incorrect. (Score:2)
Actually, there was a perfectly-legal, totally-legitimate use. Namely, the ability to play imported games from another region, where that game might not have been released in your own area. Many anime fans ended up doing this, because most anime-based video games never make it to the US, so this is the only way to play Japanese games.
Indeed, there were some modc
Re:Incorrect. (Score:2)
Most game companies nowadays do their own localization work when they bring games across national borders. End result, it makes no difference whether the game is purchased in Japan or the US: they get their money all the same. There is no market manipulation.
Re:The judgement was for sony modchips.... (Score:2)
Could you be any more banal?
Circumvention of region encoding for DVD and games. And why should I not have the right to play backed up copies of games? They tend to get damaged quite easily when you have friends around for beer and video games.
And the playstation linux kit at $AU 500 is a rip off. I wish I'd just bought an XBox as I could happily run linux on it now. So I'm selling the PS2 on ebay.
I have this crazy idea (Score:5, Insightful)
Everyone tells me that this is a bizarre, extremist, stupid idea, and would never work.
Unless the tools being described are weapons designed to kill people. In that case, having a right to make, buy, and sell these things even if they're going to be used for illegal purposes seems unquestionable, and it's extremist and stupid to state otherwise.
Of course you don't have a right to bear arms in Australia, right? But still I wonder if you'd get help from gun advocacy groups in Australia and told them about the plight of modchippers, and explained to them that modchippers and gun owners have common problems. I doubt it.
Re:I have this crazy idea (Score:1)
Re:I have this crazy idea (Score:4, Insightful)
> Why should we allow tools that have no possible legal use?
It's illegal to write your own software for PS2?
Argue that you can't find anybody doing it, but as they can't do it legally, is that really surprising?
Re:I have this crazy idea (Score:1)
Re:I have this crazy idea (Score:3, Interesting)
But then, I'm kind of a Luddite.
Modchips that don't allow copied games to run? (Score:2)
In the current legal climate, wouldn't that be the best way to sell modchips legally and widely?
Re:Modchips that don't allow copied games to run? (Score:2)
Re:Modchips that don't allow copied games to run? (Score:2)
> What's to prevent me from putting this special marker on a copy of a game?
The Green Lantern, Thundra, or possibly... Ghost Rider. [snpp.com]
Re:Modchips that don't allow copied games to run? (Score:3, Interesting)
(Cue alternate history lesson)
It was the early 1990s. UNIX workstations were DRM protected to only allow us to run the flavour of UNIX that was sold with them. Under purchaser pressure, the workstation/UNIX sellers caved in and allowed us to run any version of commercial UNIX that we wanted. Huzzah!
Then along came this guy calling himself "Lunis", who claimed that he wanted to write his own kernel! How dumb did he think we were? He just wanted to pirate commercial UNIX kernels. Nobody writes their
Re:I have this crazy idea (Score:1)
Re:I have this crazy idea (Score:2)
Re:I have this crazy idea (Score:2)
Re:I have this crazy idea (Score:2)
Perhaps this was someone else, perhaps they've fixed it. Perhaps not, too.
Re:I have this crazy idea (Score:2)
Re:I have this crazy idea (Score:2)
It sure is. You need to be licensed. (Score:2)
Re:It sure is. You need to be licensed. (Score:3, Interesting)
> Nintendo, and Microsoft. You need licenses.
Fortunatly in the US, this doesnt matter for most of those companys.
Due to first sale laws on the hardware, you can do anything you want with it and any part of it that is not under copyright.
And even the parts under copyright you can do alot with, you just cant distribute them. So claiming a BIOS is copyrighted is fine, you just cant give out the BIOS code. You can still USE it
Re:I have this crazy idea (Score:2, Interesting)
I have this even more crazy idea... (Score:1)
Re:I have this crazy idea (Score:1)
You really have to look at it from a realistic point of view. You have to look at the most predominate or intended use of an item before you can regulate it. However, for a product that is primarily intended for an illegal use, I do believe that it should be illegal to sell it.
Hows this for an example? An automated lockpick ( they exist ), the randomly goes through tumblers until your lock is open. What is the primary purpose
Re:I have this crazy idea (Score:2)
Re:I have this crazy idea (Score:1)
From DMCA
'' 1201. Circumvention of copyright protection systems ''(a) VIOLATIONS REGARDING CIRCUMVENTION OF TECHNOLOGICAL MEASURES.--(1)(A) No person shall circumvent a technolo
Re:I have this crazy idea (Score:1)
This is Disappointing (Score:5, Interesting)
Essentially a mod chip allows a consumer to run whatever they like on the hardware they bought, not only what company X says they can.
The problem is that company X has total control over what can be run on the hardware without mod chips. This means they can sell a product and then say you can only run a select list of programs on the hardware from companies as dictated by them. This is third party tying, and this is illegal in Australia.
In short, mod chips return to Australian consumers the rights they're entitled to under Australian law. This rulling removes them again.
Re:This is Disappointing (Score:2)
Perhaps I'd be more upset with the decision if I wasn't so fed up with the only PSX and PS2 games I find at swapmeets being pirated. It's hard to feel that Sony are just price gouging when one guy at one swapmeet is selling 300+ games at A
Re:This is Disappointing (Score:1)
Admitingly I lost interest in their kit quite a while back, but I was under the impression that you were quite limited with what you could do with it. You can't even access the DVD drive, can you? Is it actually possible to use it to play games from a region outside the intended area? Heck, I might have to re-evaluate what it would be worth to me if it'd be an easy way to both play around with Linux on it and
Re:This is Disappointing (Score:2)
However, I got my Asus DVD-ROM/CDr/CDRW USB 2.0 drive working pretty easily.
But if you're particuarly after remakes of old games, there's probably an emulator you can compile on the PS2 to play the original ROM. I haven't gotten around to Stella yet mostly because I own a Cuttle Cart
Re:This is Disappointing (Score:3, Interesting)
Except for the region coding factor. If I buy LEGAL games from overseas, either by visiting those countries or by mail order, I cannot play them. This reduces consumer choice, and is exactly why the ACCC were interested in this case.
The ACCC kicked up a fuss about DVD region coding some time back, now pretty much any D
Re:This is Disappointing (Score:1)
(Note, I'm a Brit, and I wish I wish I wish that we had judges and laws that would give us some of this stuff over here. Maybe I should write to my MP)
Re:This is Disappointing (Score:2)
Hmm, my browser isn't showing a sarcasm tag, so I'm not sure if you're having a go at me. No, the Linux kit won't let you play out-of-region PS2 games. However, I did download and compile Moria which I was quite happy with :). I haven't gotten around to installing Stella yet. My MP3 collection is on the hard drive and xmms is installed. I was remote controlling it with an Xterm varient (VNC) the other weekend.
Re:This is Disappointing (Score:1)
But deep down everyone realizes the only basis is for pirating games. I know a half dozen people with mod-chips, and they only did it for games... Maybe there is the odd honest person out there - but I bet that 99% of people just want to pirate.
Just because there is the odd person who would make a legal use of it, does not justify allowing the
Re:This is Disappointing (Score:1)
Yes, think about gun restrictions. For most lethal firearms, the majority of people in America are welcome to get a minimal background check and then buy said firearm. Of course, if the weapon they wish to buy can take out a city block in half a second, it's significantly less likely that they can get it. On the other hand, in mo
Re:This is Disappointing (Score:2)
Yup, the same plug. I brought my electrical devices to Japan, they worked fine there. Bought a Clie there, works fine here. In some areas they use 50Hz AC instead of 60, but most devices don't care. In fact, I've run many of my devices on a 120V DC power supply that my roommate and I made, but I digress
also at theregister: (Score:5, Informative)
some content in this one this time too
Ironic (Score:3, Interesting)
Go to Google and try to find a method for saving a Quicktime video stream. It can be done but you have to be persistant. Now try the same thing with Media Player... Google goes nuts showing you freeware up the wazzo to do just this very thing.
I am not worried.
It was in today's newspaper (Score:3)
Online link here [thewest.com.au].
So what? (Score:4, Informative)
erm... that's for an MSX-box, not psx (Score:1)
And in that case you still need a way to get the buffer-overflow files on your xbox - which requires a mega x-key (read: circumvention device) or some jiggery-pokery swapping IDE cables around while your hard drive is on.
Re:erm... that's for an MSX-box, not psx (Score:1)
Re:erm... that's for an MSX-box, not psx (Score:2)
True, true... but I was referring to the part in the article where it speculates on what this would mean for the Xbox. Sorry, I should have made that more clear.
And in that case you still need a way to get the buffer-overflow files on your xbox - which requires a mega x-key (read: circumvention device) or some jiggery-pokery swapping IDE cables around while your hard drive is on.
The mega x-key isn't a circumvention device, it has FAR more legal
Re:erm... that's for an MSX-box, not psx (Score:1)
Something about swapping the IDE cables while the drive is running scares me though, and the soldering isn't really very difficult. Although as you say, soldering the bridge and flashing the tsop is much sim
Re: (Score:2)
Re:erm... that's for an MSX-box, not psx (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:So what? (Score:1)
Case opens (Score:3, Interesting)
Two years ago Mr Eddy Stevens sold unauthorised copies of computer games on CD-ROMs for use on Sony PlayStations. He also supplied and installed modifying chips in PlayStation consoles
Case closed. We really need to find better cause celebres rather than letting rights owners pick the fights.
Several Issues (Score:2, Interesting)
In Australia it is illegal for vendors to 'lock' products with products from third parties.
This ruling seems to side with the manufacturers without addressing any of their failings. There is possibly wrongdoing on both sides here (ie offering a product for sale that does not comply with these 'third party lock in' laws)
With respect to the 'could reasonably
Re:Several Issues (Score:2)
Wny doesnt someone make a modchip that... (Score:2, Interesting)
Also, it could be built to boot bootable cdroms (such as a sutably modified knoppix disk or something), so that you could e.g. modify the installer for a sutable linux distro and make a set of ISOs ready to install that would give you e.g. red hat or mandrake or whatever with sutable mods for xbox and xbox h/w
Since the digital signature on
Re:Wny doesnt someone make a modchip that... (Score:1)
Hibana over at Aussie Chip [aussiechip.com.au] claim that they have. From their website:
However they have suspended [smh.com.au] the sale of their modchips while legal advic
The real reason Australia is scared of modchips (Score:3, Funny)
FTA = Bend Over (Score:4, Insightful)
"Free Trade" - what a misnomer.
Australia already has 0-5% tariffs on nearly all imports - the real sticking points here are removing PBS (Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme), removing australian TV content restrictions, full privitisation of Telstra (the now half state owned telecommunications giant), removing distilled liquor duty, relaxing food labelling laws, relaxing quarantine restrictions, and basically anything else that a major American lobby group objects to...
So basically - we have to remove all of the things that Australians believe in and have spent many decades nurturing - for a marginal at best gain...
Let us hope negotiations progress...
Btw, I'm not anti-american, I would feel the same way if any other country tried to dictate australian domestic policy.
Q.
Re:FTA = Bend Over (Score:2, Insightful)
Here in America, we've got NAFTA, and it's not much better. Well, it's better than being in Iraq, but I swear, Democracy is flourishing at home, too!
Re:FTA = Bend Over (Score:2)
so then you'd be happy to learn that the American Capitalists are lobbying very hard for Canada to Privatize its water supply, thus forcing a continuous supply for Americans, based on the NAFTA agreement....(Canada would be forced to sell water, no matter the circumstance)
bloody politicians in America....if i had my way, i tell them all to go fsck their hard drives.
Re:FTA = Bend Over (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:FTA = Bend Over (Score:2)
Re:FTA = Bend Over (Score:2)
So realistically it has nothing to do with free trade - but a lot to do with vested interests and bottom lines...
Q.
I don't get it (Score:5, Insightful)
But this ruling goes even further: in addition to copyright protection, the legal system is now also being burdened, at taxpayer expense, with prosecuting people who circumvent copy protection. If Microsoft or Sony can't figure out how to make their boxes unmoddable (it's not that hard technically), why should the taxpayer pick up the tab for their incompetence? And, no, it's not just Australia: of course, this nonsense is even more widespread in the US.
Re:I don't get it (Score:1)
What about books? (Score:2)
IMHO the only way out is still removing all legal protection to copy protection.
Re:I don't get it (Score:2)
There is an unfortunate reason.
Under normal copyright law pre-DMCA, if you copyrighted a work, and did something that prevents it from EVER hitting the public domain as they are now doing, i DO have a legal right to break that copy protection.
If you got sued for ensuring the company followed the law (honored their copyright aggreement) you could counter sue, which i even believe has happened before, and why companys stopped doing it.
Unfortunatly w
i don't get it ... it's mine or is it? (Score:2, Interesting)
it's like buying a calculator and then the law forbids me to use it to calculate how much plutonium i will need to reach critical mass!!! damn!
What is the jurisdiction here? (Score:1)
I would have thought the whole mod chip thing was a civil issue, not criminal when you're talking copyright infringement
Oh, wait... we're only talking potential copyright infringement aren't we?
It's legal for me to own a firearm (if properly licensed & registered) until such time as I actually commit a criminal offence with it. Surely I should be able to buy a mod chip for my Sony or wh
Re:What is the jurisdiction here? (Score:2)
Australia's access to the Privy Council was removed in the 80's
Thats good news for Australia (Score:1)
Game Backups (Score:4, Interesting)
Since then I haven't bought any of their games, and I'd also strongly argue the case for me to backup the ones I do.
Limited use (Score:2)
Making the chips illegal to sell strikes me as a pretty good method for making sure it stays that way.
Well... (Score:2)
Pity, really, as it would have been fun to watch MS squirm under a clickable lisence, or try and say the clickable lisence was invalid (thus them saying all clickable lisences are invalid, even their own).
Oh well.
Thursdae
up to
Has anyone called a PS/2 a PC? (Score:1)
Free Trade and IP Laws In Australia (Score:2)
> "with the exception of the Australian Financial Review referring to it in the Free Trade Agreement context"
and from the artcle:
> '"That remains something of a weakness in local copyright laws in that they focus on the supply of the devices rather than their use," Mr Williams said.'
Put the two together and you have a push, using the looming US 'free' trade agreement as a cover, to outlaw the private non-commercial use of various technologies in Australia.
NOW IS TH
what about homebrew? (Score:2)
The problem with these DMCA-ish rulings is that even if mod-chips are substantially used for copyright violations, when you ban them, you screw all of the people who use them for legitimate use.
Re:Will this ruling really matter? (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:what is wrong with australia? (Score:1)
Re:WHAT?!?! (Score:2)
No internet access isn't restricted - it is crap. Bandwidth just sucks in australia, though this has begun to slowly change.
"...whacked computer rules" - I'm not even sure what this one means... perhaps you mean how our federal police/intelligence agencies have finally been granted the same rights as the comparable american agencies???
Australia has EFA [efa.org.au] - but we don't neccesarily have to rely on volunteer organisations as we actually have a go
Re:WHAT?!?! (Score:1)
Re:WHAT?!?! (Score:2)
"The investigative powers of van Hulst's agency were expanded earlier this year to permit the opening of mail and hacking into suspects' computer systems." - yeah, nice and free...
Reference: Here [charlotte.com]
Q.
EFF in Australia = EFA (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Ahhh. (Score:2)
Re:Trafficking (Score:2)
Even passing a joint at a party (without partaking yourself) leaves you technically open to prosecution for "trafficking" - the same would apply to modchips I believe.
There are also importation/quarantine restrictions that they could possibly get you on - but I have no further information on those laws.
Australia has this annoying habit (troll dis