Arrests Made Near D.C. Over Modded Game Consoles
Posted by
timothy
on Wed Dec 08, 2004 02:59 PM
from the fine-line-between-clever-and-stupid dept.
from the fine-line-between-clever-and-stupid dept.
multiOSfreak writes "According to this Reuters articl, two video game store employees have been arrested for modding video game consoles. From the article: 'Authorities arrested two store employees on charges of conspiracy to commit copyright infringement and conspiracy to traffic in a device that circumvents technological protection measures, the ESA said.'" It's not clear from the article whether the modded consoles were sold without copies of the games which had been installed on their hard drives, which would seem to be the most important distinction between convenience for buyers and actually ripping off game makers. Update: 12/08 22:43 GMT by T : This thread on boing-boing includes a comment from a would-be customer who says (among other things) that store employees "were also preloading the XBox systems with tons of emulators (arcade and console) and as many ROMs as they could find."
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Arrests Made Near D.C. Over Modded Game Consoles
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Ripped off games. (Score:5, Informative)
(http://www.grub.net/blog/index.html | Last Journal: Wednesday June 27, @08:48AM)
Timothy: It's not clear from the article whether the modded consoles were sold without copies of the games which had been installed on their hard drives
Article: Pandora's Cube, Wright said, sold $500 "Super Xbox" consoles, modified versions of Microsoft Corp.'s (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research) Xbox video game console, that had been modified to hold larger hard drives and play pirated games. The modified consoles, some holding 15 or more games already copied to the hard drive, were on open display in the stores
It sounds to me like they'd stock up the drives with ripped off games to warrant the $500 price tag. After the modchip, hard disk and cost of the XBOX itself there isn't a lot left from the $500 to go towards games.
Re:Ripped off games. (Score:4, Informative)
(http://www.worldcommunitygrid.org/ | Last Journal: Wednesday May 11 2005, @07:34PM)
Can you get 15 games for $225? I buy 'em used for $14. $14*15 = $210. They could have saved themselves a lot of trouble by going legit.
Re:Ripped off games. (Score:5, Interesting)
(http://slashdot.org/)
It says they modified consoles to have larger hard drives and play pirated games. (Dubious claim because that's what ESA will say about ANY modded xbox, regardless of intent). Then, in a second sentence it says there were modded xboxes on display that had 15 games or more copied onto the hard drive. What is unclear is this very important point: Were those boxes with 15 games ONLY display models, or were all the xboxes sold ones that had pirated games on them (as opposed to ones modded in such a fashion that they *could* have pirated games on them.)
Basically, if they sold modded xboxes that had pre-installed pirated games on their hard drives as the article heavily implies without saying outright, then ESA is in the right on this. If they merely were selling modded xboxes that *can* store games on the hard drive, but started out without any stored on them, and their 15 games on the display models were just examples to demonstrate this feature, then ESA is in the wrong on this (yeah, I know the law says otherwise, but the DMCA is wrong.)
Basically, the article doesn't provide enough information to explicitly state that actual piracy (actual piracy, not the DMCA newspeak version of piracy) was taking place. It states outright that mods that could be used for piracy were being *sold*, and that copied games using those mods were on *display*. The connecting of the two together to mean that copied games were being installed on the new xboxes being sold was merely heavily implied without being stated explicitly.
Re:Ripped off games. (From an Ex-Customer) (Score:4, Interesting)
(Last Journal: Thursday April 28 2005, @01:27PM)
It's not unique to Pandora's Cube. Every import store I've visited sells grey/black market items in plain sight, with large signs, and sometimes light ropes! Depending on the quality of the copy, you may inadvertantly be purchasing illegal copies. Be wary when they say "They're from Hong Kong."
I'd venture to say they collected a bit more evidence in other areas (*cough* video/dvd *cough*), too. If you're gonna play, don't get caught. I mean, the probable cause was out in the open and the FBI HQ is 20 miles away?
The saddest example of law enforcement was when Pokemon: The First Movie was out, I was catching a preview of it at the store. Not only was this a week before theatrical release, but I was watching it along with four police officers who were in the store at that time. In the end, I guess it was truly a Federal case.
Sour grapes: Customer service sucked, too.
Re:Ripped off games. (Score:5, Insightful)
They were selling modded XBox systems with larger hard-drives and games preloaded. Each box had a printed sticker attached with the size of the drive and a list of included games. You could pick your XBox based on the size of the hard-drive and the list of included games. And it was current games - things like Burnout 3 and Halo 2.
They were also preloading the XBox systems with tons of emulators (arcade and console) and as many ROMs as they could find. I watched a customer walk in and ask about a specific original GameBoy game - the employee immediately fired up a GameBoy emulator with the appropriate ROM right there on the demo XBox and handed the customer the controller to play with.
They appeared to be to be doing pretty brisk business. I left the place seriously disturbed by what I had seen and wondering whether to report them. Guess somebody already had. They definitely crossed the line. And it is sad to see that happen with one of the few reliable local suppliers of mod chips.
I think they were doing the same practice with PS2 systems as well. I recall seeing a game list that was split into domestic and imports and imports really aren't an issue on the XBox.
It's fair... (Score:5, Funny)
Yeah, that sounds like an open and shut case of stupidity to me.
Aye... (Score:5, Insightful)
Wow... (Score:5, Funny)
(http://cantarafamily.net/)
-Jesse
Re:Wow... (Score:5, Funny)
Wow... (Score:3, Insightful)
Honestly... (Score:5, Insightful)
(http://www.biologynews.net/)
But let`s be honest. 99% of modded Xbox and PS1/2 serve a lone purpose : playing games without paying for them.
Of course, we must also realize that the popularity of the PS1 compared to the N64 was probably due to this 'feature'...
Re:Honestly... (Score:5, Insightful)
(http://slashdot.org/)
And the fact that N64 games were $10-$20 more expensive on average, and the N64 featured almost *no* RPGs from start to finish...That was just coincidence, eh?
Face it - the PS1 had a rough start, sure, but it was the games that sold the system, starting with FF7 in particular.
Re:Honestly... (Score:5, Informative)
(http://www.lazylightning.org/)
If these people hadn't pre-loaded the devices with games this would have been a completely different story.
Let's not fall into the "oh, it must have been piracy so it's ok" thing. Mod-chips serve a purpose and should be legal. If you are using a mod-chip to steal games then that's your own thing but certainly don't give them the satisfaction of saying that everyone mods for burning games.
Personally I'm waiting for the XBox2 to come out and everyone to drop their XBox1's on Ebay so I can get them cheap as hell for a media center machine.
Re:Honestly... (Score:4, Insightful)
(http://www.lazylightning.org/)
Unfortunately it shouldn't be allowed to matter. Microsoft can claim that we are just licensing the inexpensive hardware to play the expensive games but they shouldn't be allowed to dictate what we do to that hardware.
Just because the mod-chip scene is generally for modifying the hardware to copy games that you haven't purchased doesn't mean it should be illegal to buy, sell, or modify hardware that includes them. The argument has been made 1000s of times here about item X having a legitimate purpose but that it can also be used for purposes other than what it was intended for yet those items are still legal.
Let's concentrate on the fact that they were arrested for offering 15+ games on the device that weren't legal. Let's not concentrate on the mod-chip at all.
Not really surprising (Score:5, Insightful)
Thank god! (Score:5, Funny)
(http://mysite.verizon.net/tkrotchko/)
Is it just me?? (Score:3, Informative)
(http://www.marotti.com/ | Last Journal: Thursday February 15 2007, @01:48PM)
Seriously... it sounds like EA executives have imprinted subliminal messages to assassinate the president, until they are sniffed out by the ESA black-op soldiers!
Seriously, though... we have to hold off judgement until we know exactly what they are being arrested for. If they are just modding the boxes or are offering something on top of that.
RTFA (Score:5, Informative)
They were NOT arrested for "modding xboxes". They were arrested for being idiots.
Pandora's Cube (Score:5, Informative)
(http://www.manganext.org/)
In other news... (Score:5, Funny)
In other news, federal authorities raided and destroyed core Internet routers citing that the hardware was facilitating piracy.
This may have actually BEEN piracy (Score:5, Insightful)
(http://slashdot.org/)
Quoth the article:
Now, I assume the reason that the feds were involved is that this was for-profit copyright infringement, which is a crime.
Re:This may have actually BEEN piracy (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:This may have actually BEEN piracy (Score:5, Funny)
(http://www.livejournal.com/~tassach/)
Flagrant Piracy (Score:5, Insightful)
Not only were they modding the consoles, but they were selling them with pirated games already installed for $500 a pop.
If that's not blatant piracy deserving of jail time then I don't know what is. Whine all you want about your right to do what you want with your own hardware, but these guys were begging to get busted.
Let's make something perfectly clear (Score:5, Insightful)
Using those tools and infringing on somebodys copyright: Illegal
Hardware that circumvents restrictions put in place to keep me from accessing my legally licensed software should always be legal.
This reminds me of the old PS mod chip stuff I used to do for my gfs mom. I modded a few PSs, and copied rented games for her. It worked out great, because I _knew_ her. If you're going to do this kind of thing for pocket ching, keep it discrete. Like when you get offered Gillette Sensor Excel Titanium Pro(whatever) blades at the local barbershop at like %30 of cost because they fell off a truck somewhere. That's relatively discrete. Putting those same blades in the store window, not discrete.
Darwinism applies to illegal activity also. The stupid get busted, the smart don't.
Used to run Linux, backups (Score:3, Insightful)
(http://slashdot.org/ | Last Journal: Friday February 18 2005, @11:24AM)
What's that about 15 games pre-installed on the hard drive?? You're just a facist pig!!
Well! (Score:5, Funny)
(http://doombob.com/)
Yes, they were infringing copyrights. (Score:3)
(Last Journal: Tuesday March 09 2004, @01:55AM)
Why is this a criminal offense? It would have been just as easy for Microsoft to send them a C&D and sue their asses. Why is taxpayer money going towards protecting the copyrights of megacorps?
If I wrote a small piece of software by myself, and found someone violating my copyright, I would be forced to sue them to protect my copyright. I doubt I could get the cops to raid them. Megacorps, on the other hand, get to use law enforcement to take down violators.
Can someone with detailed legal knowledge explain this to me?
Criminal Copyright Statute (Score:5, Informative)
"(a) Criminal Infringement.--Any person who infringes a copyright willfully either--
(1) for purposes of commercial advantage or private financial gain, or
(2) by the reproduction or distribution, including by electronic means, during any 180-day period, of 1 or more copies or phonorecords of 1 or more copyrighted works, which have a total retail value of more than $1,000,
shall be punished as provided under section 2319 of title 18, United States Code. For purposes of this subsection, evidence of reproduction or distribution of a copyrighted work, by itself, shall not be sufficient to establish willful infringement.
(b) Forfeiture and Destruction.--When any person is convicted of any violation of subsection (a), the court in its judgment of conviction shall, in addition to the penalty therein prescribed, order the forfeiture and destruction or other disposition of all infringing copies or phonorecords and all implements, devices, or equipment used in the manufacture of such infringing copies or phonorecords.
(c) Fraudulent Copyright Notice.--Any person who, with fraudulent intent, places on any article a notice of copyright or words of the same purport that such person knows to be false, or who, with fraudulent intent, publicly distributes or imports for public distribution any article bearing such notice or words that such person knows to be false, shall be fined not more than $2,500.
(d) Fraudulent Removal of Copyright Notice.--Any person who, with fraudulent intent, removes or alters any notice of copyright appearing on a copy of a copyrighted work shall be fined not more than $2,500.
(e) False Representation.--Any person who knowingly makes a false representation of a material fact in the application for copyright registration provided for by section 409, or in any written statement filed in connection with the application, shall be fined not more than $2,500.
(f) Rights of Attribution and Integrity.--Nothing in this section applies to infringement of the rights conferred by section 106A(a)."
So yes, there canbe criminal penalties for copyright infringement -- its already built in to the statutes.
Re:Criminal Copyright Statute (Score:5, Funny)
(http://www.utimegames.com/)
(a) Criminal Infringement.--Any person who infringes a copyright willfully...(2) by the reproduction or distribution, including by electronic means...which have a total retail value of more than $1,000, shall be punished as provided under section 2319 of title 18, United States Code....
(b) Forfeiture and Destruction.--When any person is convicted of any violation of subsection (a), the court in its judgment of conviction shall, in addition to the penalty therein prescribed, order the forfeiture and destruction or other disposition of all infringing copies or phonorecords and all implements, devices, or equipment used in the manufacture of such infringing copies or phonorecords. (emphasis obviously mine)
You heard it here first, people. Infringe the copyrights of over $1,000 worth of records on the internet, and the ENTIRE INTERNET MUST BE DESTROYED.
Enjoy!
180 days (Score:4, Interesting)
(http://slashdot.org/~nurb432/ | Last Journal: Friday August 27 2004, @03:24PM)
( not that i can even think of 60 cds i want at this point. but that isnt the point )
Now, considering its a criminal issue and not a civil issue, the burden is on the court to prove the timing of the copying..
If Microsoft was god, (Score:5, Funny)
(http://www.gamacentric.com/)
The boy at the dike (Score:5, Interesting)
(http://www.frontrowcrew.com/ | Last Journal: Wednesday June 16 2004, @09:55AM)
For every "pirate" they arrest, ten spring up in his place. For every p2p network that gets shut down/investigated/compromised, ten faster, more secure, more anonymous networks spring up in its place. Furthermore, many developing (and some developed) nations have absolutely no incentive whatsoever to enforce copyright law.
Bandwidth is increasing. Users are becoming more and more techno-savy. The technology is getting better.
This cannot be stopped. Legislative measures end at national borders, and do not effectively deter (see the drug war). Technological measures will always be circumvented. Moralistic measures have no power of enforcement.
It's not a matter of whether this is right or wrong. It's not a matter of whether intellectual property is legally protected.
It's a matter of technology existing that cannot un-exist.
Entities that rely on intellectual property protections have only two viable long-term paths at this point:
1) Adapt to this new world.
2) Be destroyed by it.
Yes, it may be wrong. Yes, it may be stealing. Yes, it will put people out of work. The sad fact, however, is that these points are irrelevant in the face of the simple truth that it can not and will not be stopped.
There comes a point in any losing battle where you cut your losses, step back, and re-evaluate your situation. We passed that point long ago.
Don't cry for Pandora's Cube (Score:5, Informative)
They may not have been illegal copies. (Score:3, Insightful)
(http://www.mapraider.com/)
The boxes were on open display in the store. There were 15 or more games on the boxes. They sold them.
That's all we know.
What we don't know is if the original hard-copy of each game was included with each sold box or if each original was destroyed as it was copied.
If either of those were the case, I'd have to say that there's nothing wrong with what they were doing. In the end, the buyer had their own single, legitimate copy of each game.
Assuming they were making sure each box had it's own individual copy of the game, this statement is nonsensical (even if you ignore the 'burning games onto the hard drive' idiocy). Providing a means to make a fair-use backup copy of purchased software is not a crime
... although at the rate things are going, it will be before too long.
The real issue here is probably the bullshit that is the DMCA, and hopefully this will grow into being a case that tests the validity of it. Though, if I were a betting man, I'd wager that the store employees did not make an effort to ensure they were within the law and don't stand a chance
Amazon is selling them too (Score:3, Informative)
Used XBoxes [amazon.com]
tinfoil hat (Score:3, Insightful)
(http://www.zareste.com/?l=level3)
Funny how the government makes all sorts of conspiracy theories but when one of us points out the obvious, we're off to the nut house
Nothing to see here (Score:3)
The modified consoles, some holding 15 or more games already copied to the hard drive, were on open display in the stores.
$500 modded Xboxes on open display with warezed games? Open and shut case, these guys deserved to be pinched.
Vendor kept electronic records of purchases... (Score:4, Interesting)
Pandora's Cube keeps electronic records of who you are and what you purchase. Not so much with the game and DVD purchases, but defintely with the system purchases.
I doubt that the Feds will pursue the buyers, but if they obtain the records they will know who bought what system with the pirated games...