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Hardware Hacking Entertainment Games

Man Convicted For Hacking Xbox 343

Posted by Zonk from the thinking-big dept.
PipianJ writes "Remember the ruling in Britain which outlawed mod chips last year? BBC News is reporting that a man has been convicted of modding an Xbox and sentenced to 140 hours of community service, a fine of 750 pounds (about $1300), and the confiscation of his PCs and Xboxes." From the article: "The man had been selling modified Xbox consoles which he fitted with a big hard drive containing 80 games. 'This case sets a major precedent which marks a milestone in the fight against piracy,' said games industry spokesman Michael Rawlinson." Update: 07/04 22:12 GMT by Z : Updated to more accurately discuss the story.
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Man Convicted For Hacking Xbox More

Man Convicted For Hacking Xbox

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  • Er, this is actually about boring old piracy (Score:5, Insightful)

    by rimu guy ( 665008 ) * on Monday July 04, 2005 @04:57PM (#12981502) Homepage

    Kinda relevant, but somehow missed from the main slashdot post:

    The man had been selling modified Xbox consoles which he fitted with a big hard drive containing 80 games.

    There are legitimate reasons to chip consoles, e.g. to run your own OS on them. I wonder how the case would have gone had the guy just been selling modded console sans illegal software. Anyone want to turn themselves in and find out?

    --
    DNS Checking Tool [pingability.com]

    • Re:Er, this is actually about boring old piracy (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Ford Prefect ( 8777 ) on Monday July 04, 2005 @05:02PM (#12981535) Homepage
      I wonder how the case would have gone had the guy just been selling modded console sans illegal software.

      I read the story on the Beeb earlier and thought just that - it really sounds like a case of piracy (cough, sorry, copyright infringement) which has by virtue of Press Release has been trumped up into entirely about modding a console.

      Selling consoles with loads of copied games on them is just plain dim-witted and the guy deserved to get caught - but conveniently for the sake of scare-tactics, there had to be that mod-chip as well...

      • Re:Er, this is actually about boring old piracy (Score:5, Insightful)

        by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 04, 2005 @05:28PM (#12981665)
        it really sounds like a case of piracy (cough, sorry, copyright infringement)

        Actually, in this instance, piracy is the correct term.

        Piracy refers to large-scale copyright infringement for monetary gain.

    • Re:Er, this is actually about boring old piracy (Score:5, Insightful)

      by RonnyJ ( 651856 ) on Monday July 04, 2005 @05:05PM (#12981547)
      The ELSPA statement is also strange.

      "It sends a clear message to anyone tempted to become involved in chipping consoles that this is a criminal offence and will be dealt with accordingly "

      I don't understand why that statement is so focused on the chipping part, when the guy was doing a great deal more than that (i.e. selling pirated games). The only reason I can think of is that ELSPA are spinning this as a way to deter a larger amount of people from the lesser 'crime' of chipping.

      • Mod parent up.

        That's how these think. They try to create impressions. "Downloading is illegal" where in most cases it is not (uploading is), "modding is punished severly" when we don't have a solid basis for that statement yet.
        • Downloading copyrighted material is illegal. It's just that it's much easier from a technological viewpoint to catch the uploaders.
          • The downloader doesn't have to verify what does he download. That's the uploader's job.
      • Because the copyright infringement is already illegal. ELSPA want modding your console to become illegal as well, and to that end they claim that it is illegal at every turn.

        Remember that if you repeat a big lie loud and often enough, people eventually start to believe it.

        In the future, sources will quote press releases such as this one while arguing that modding should be/is illegal. Similar to the process we have now whereby American copyright terms are increased to match European terms, and then Europe

    • Re:Er, this is actually about boring old piracy (Score:5, Funny)

      by squarefish ( 561836 ) * on Monday July 04, 2005 @06:20PM (#12981898)
      sure, you sort of make sense, but I think the point they're trying to get across is that hacking is just like drug use- once you start modding your xbox, it will lead to harder crimes like piracy and raping his neighbor's dog. The fact that he was selling this just reinforces the negativity surround the 'hacking' addiction.

      he should definitely get the death penalty for this.
      </sarcasm>
    • It doesn't say whether he pirated the games. Maybe he bought them legitimately, modded the console, installed the hard drive and games, then sold on the whole package. That wouldn't be any different from the video game stores offering a discount on five games with every console bought.

      Who knows, maybe the games were simply demos out of PC game magazines. For a while, even the breakfast cereal makers were giving away PC games with each box (Prince of Persia etc...).

      Having a console system with 80 pre-insta
    • I wonder how the case would have gone had the guy just been selling modded console sans illegal software.

      It looks like the court did not actually think the games were worth much anyway. Certainly nothing like retail price. Note that the £750 isn't a fine it's his court costs. 38 hard disks containing 80 games equates to 3,040 games. He has 140 hours of community service, thus a game equates to under 3 minutes worth of of work. 140 hours @ £4.20/hour equates to £588. Dividing this by 3,04

  • it doesn't (Score:2, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward
    just dont sell modded xboxes. i don't understand why every slashdot post has to make a mountain out of a molehill.
    • As read in BBC news:

      Man convicted for chipping Xbox Xbox console

      (image)
      (NOTE: extra-tiny caption. almost invisible)"The Xbox was fitted with a 200GB hard drive packed with games"

      A 22-year-old man has become the first person in the UK to be convicted for modifying a video games console."

      • Re:Blame the media and lazy submitters (Score:5, Funny)

        by king-manic ( 409855 ) on Monday July 04, 2005 @05:30PM (#12981679)
        As read in BBC news:

        Man convicted for chipping Xbox Xbox console

        (image)
        (NOTE: extra-tiny caption. almost invisible)"The Xbox was fitted with a 200GB hard drive packed with games"

        A 22-year-old man has become the first person in the UK to be convicted for modifying a video games console."

        It's like seeing this on slashdot front page:

        headline "Man convicted for running a distro of linux"

        in the story: "-CD through the skull of a apple fan boi."
        • Um...actually your example is precisely how it really would appear on Slashdot. Slashdot has a long and wonderful history of conveniently only telling half the story, and is as guilty of doing so as any **AA organization.

    • Re:it doesn't (Score:2, Redundant)

      by SeventyBang ( 858415 )

      You are preaching to the choir.

      I love this snippet from the /. story (above):

      #1: He was selling his modded Xboxs, instead of modding it for personal use,

      #2: but what precedent does this set for casual homebrew gamers and importers?

      Probably no more than the logic between #s 1 & 2 above. "He was selling" but "what does this mean for casual people".

      I think he needed to think a bit before he submitted his story. I think a lot of people who submit poorly written copy to accompany stories are: 1)
    • i don't understand why every slashdot post has to make a mountain out of a molehill.
      I was *very* amazed (and pleased!) that he didn't get jail time. Maybe if this had happened in the USA he could have ended up sitting in prison for a few years. Sounds like he got off a little easy, but maybe in this case the punishment finally fit the crime a little better.

  • What precedent does it set? (Score:5, Funny)

    by giorgiofr ( 887762 ) on Monday July 04, 2005 @04:58PM (#12981506)
    A very clear one. Resistance is futile.

  • Uh, aren't you leaving something out? (Score:5, Informative)

    by mcc ( 14761 ) <amcclure@purdue.edu> on Monday July 04, 2005 @04:58PM (#12981509) Homepage
    From the article:

    "The man had been selling modified Xbox consoles which he fitted with a big hard drive containing 80 games."

    So.. um.. not just mod chips, then.

    Precedent or no, this guy no more deserves our sympathy or support than some guy selling bootlegged CDs on a street corner.
    • I'm actually disappointed at the way the BBC have put a misleading headline too, i.e. ' Man convicted for chipping Xbox'.

      I've noticed a few misleading technology articles in the past week or so on the BBC. It's rather disappointing too, since the BBC's news reporting is generally excellent. For instance, there's the article [bbc.co.uk] about how people think that downloading things is different to theft - no note of the fact that it isn't, actually being copyright infringement. Another example is the article [bbc.co.uk] about th

      • In my admittedly limited experience (Score:4, Interesting)

        by mcc ( 14761 ) <amcclure@purdue.edu> on Monday July 04, 2005 @05:31PM (#12981689) Homepage
        Almost every time I have ever seen the BBC run an article covering some kind of clash between technology and the desires of large traditional commercial copyright holders, they seemed to have gone absolutely out of their way to slant the article in favor of the copyright holders.

        I don't follow the BBC closely and I don't really know much about their normal news coverage. But it seems that on this one set of subjects they seem incapable of or unwilling to write a balanced article.

        Somehow I don't think it's just a coincidence that the BBC is, itself, a large traditional commercial copyright holder.
    • >>this guy no more deserves our sympathy or support than some guy selling bootlegged CDs on a street corner

      From my experience in NYC, most street vendors selling pirated music, movies, bags, t-shirts, whatever, have been very hard working immigrants..

      They would sell fruit (as the Jews, Italians, and Irish of old did), they would sell rags, they would sell pottery, paint, poems, dishes or used magazines, except for one thing: bootleg music and movies and games make more money, have a bigger demand. S
    • Lot of info left out:

      1. Are the 80 games copyrighted? And did the man need and not have permission from the copyright holders? The implication is "yes" and "yes", meaning he violated copyright. But the article doesn't make this point clear. Perhaps he was buying legit copies and merely repackaging and reselling them, which may but should not require any special permission from copyright holders.

      2. What exactly was he convicted of? And what is he guilty of? The article says he was convicted of

  • Right, so he deserved it ... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by TheGavster ( 774657 ) on Monday July 04, 2005 @04:58PM (#12981513) Homepage
    Mod your x-box, put Linux or what-have-you on it: OK. Mod your x-box, put 80 pirated x-box games on it, and sell it: Not OK. Seriously, what did he *think* would happen? Even the most liberal interpretations of copyright prohibit making a bunch of copies of something and selling them at a profit ...
    • Agreed! This happens all the time. I'm astounded at the cheek of these people. If you look in the Vancouver Buy and Sell [buysell.com] you see a metric ton of these. They stopped doing it on the online version, but before every 10 ads or so the Buy and Sell had a big public-service bulletin about how buying pirated software was bad, etc. It used to crack me up how these service bulletins got sandwiched in between ads for people doing just that. They probably removed them because nobody was paying attention.
      But seri
    • I haven't RTFA, so maybe it's explained in there, but what makes everyone think that "80 games" are automatically "80 illegally-copied games"? Why couldn't it have been, say, TuxRacer, SuperTux and 78 more free games that run on Linux (which is ported to the X-Box)?

      I'm not sure whether that's likely or whether it's more reasonable to assume that it was in fact illegally-copied games, but as they say - in dubio pro reo.

  • DIY probably won't be enforced, sellers are toast (Score:3, Informative)

    by davidwr ( 791652 ) on Monday July 04, 2005 @05:00PM (#12981523) Homepage Journal
    What does this mean?

    Do it yourselfers who only modify boxes for themselves probably won't be bothered.

    Those who do it for friends for free or just the cost of parts may but only if someone rats them out.

    Those who are doing a high-volume business OR who are making any kind of profit are toast.

    In a nutshell, the industry will play wack-a-mole and go after the higher-profile targets first.

  • If he wasn't selling them... (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Nogami_Saeko ( 466595 ) on Monday July 04, 2005 @05:00PM (#12981526)
    He probably would've been pretty safe if he didn't sell them - I think they would've had a pretty tough time convicting him if it had just been some guy who chipped his own xbox at home for personal use.

    (BTW: For those who havn't done it, modding an xbox is so easy that virtually anyone can do it. It actually takes longer to take the thing apart than it does to install the modchip and a bigger HD).

    N.

  • Don't Mod Xboxes (Score:4, Funny)

    by Brainboy ( 310252 ) <`iamchillin' `at' `gmail.com'> on Monday July 04, 2005 @05:01PM (#12981530) Journal
    "It sends a clear message to anyone tempted to become involved in chipping consoles that this is a criminal offence and will be dealt with accordingly," said Mr Rawlinson, deputy director general of Elspa.

    "The modification of consoles is an activity that Elspa's anti-piracy team is prioritising. It is encouraging to see the UK courts do the same."

    Don't mod your Xboxes!!!11!!one! It's a moral wrong against society. Remember if you want you play foreign games you are a CRIMINAL! .

  • Rewrite the summary (Score:4, Insightful)

    by suparjerk ( 784861 ) on Monday July 04, 2005 @05:01PM (#12981531)
    The headline / summary of this article needs to be rewritten to mention something about selling pirated games.
  • Modifying hardware in that way is certainly "hacking" in the "original", RMS-cum-ESR meaning, but doesn't the Original Meaning of "Hack" (OMOH) preclude illegal uses of a computer?

    In that way, isn't Slashdot doing a disservice to the OMOH by blurring the line between it and the negative Mainstream Meaning of Hack (MMOH)?

    I mean, it is an effect of a legislation that expels from legality many playful activities associated with the OMOH, but the deliberate breaking of laws is certainly MMOH, isn't?

    How does

  • It never ceases to amaze me..... (Score:4, Insightful)

    by slicenglide ( 735363 ) on Monday July 04, 2005 @05:03PM (#12981542)
    That they would label this article as, "Man busted for chipping box." When in fact it had nothing to do with the chip itself, but the PIRATED SOFTWARE the hard drive contained. It should be properly labeled as "Man busted for selling pirated Xbox software." if he had been selling Linux running xbox's with homebrew apps, it would have been a nonissue. As the slashdot commmunity, we do ourselves a disservice by labeling stories this way and spreading F.U.D. that would lead us to believe that chipping your box is illegal.
    Next time excercise some editorial control and highlight the fact the man was selling Pirated Xbox software and that this was all part of a greater nonissue. You pirate software and sell it(Whether in Hard Drive or Disc Format) you are going to get the hammer. Guy got off amazingly light in the face of what he was doing.
    • That they would label this article as, "Man busted for chipping box." When in fact it had nothing to do with the chip itself, but the PIRATED SOFTWARE the hard drive contained.

      Without the court docket all we have to go on is the article. The article says he was actually convicted for chipping, not copyright violation. Possibly he plea-bargained down to that (or the UK equivalent)... but regardless, IF he was convicted for chipping then this case can be used to help make the next case against someone doing
      • Possibly he plea-bargained down to that (or the UK equivalent)

        FYI: there is no equivalent in the UK. The closest we have is a system where the judge is supposed to take into account during sentencing the fact that the perpetrator admitted his crime, and reduce the sentence appropriately.

        The Crown Prosecution Service is always supposed to prosecute every crime as far as they believe they can prove it.

        It's worth noting that chipping (i.e. contributory copyright infringement) isn't a criminal offence but
    • The idea here is that by focusing on the fact that they were modified systems, it can produce the effect of merely modifying the system as "proof of intent", to be used eventually in a later court case.

      Piece by piece, and little by little, consumers rights are being stripped away.

    • then u should also comment on the reporter or the editor for writing the BBC article. the BBC article is clearly headlined: Man convicted for chipping Xbox and not Man convicted for pirating Xbox games.

      perhaps the poster didn't bother to read the article, but BBC themselves in my opinion is the one who is spreading F.U.D. if they are at all.
      • No,the BBC WERE accurate, the offence was breach of the EU Copyright directive, which makes it illegal to chip the xbox - actually to defeat a copy protection system. That's what the guy did, and thats what he was convicted for. The piracy didn't help but the copying of games was actually just a side issue that didn't help his case at all

  • And remember... (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Sheepdot ( 211478 ) on Monday July 04, 2005 @05:04PM (#12981545) Journal
    ...this isn't Xbox modding, this is Xbox infringement.

  • The point.... (Score:4, Insightful)

    by ogdenk ( 712300 ) on Monday July 04, 2005 @05:05PM (#12981549)
    I'm against laws prohibiting modification OF MY OWN DAMN POSESSIONS. That's like saying I can't put a heavier recoil spring in my handgun, or improve the fuel mileage in my car with a better carb.

    HOW LONG BEFORE I NEED TO HAVE A FEDERALLY APPROVED "SOLDERING IRON" OR "OSCILLOSCOPE" LICENSE?!

    Now this guy got nailed for piracy but the quote about "chipping consoles is an illegal act" towards the end makes me uneasy. Real uneasy. It's only a matter of time before people get nailed like this under the US DMCA.

    They aren't using this guy as a posterboy for generic anti-piracy, they are using him as an example for mod-chipping.
    • HOW LONG BEFORE I NEED TO HAVE A FEDERALLY APPROVED "SOLDERING IRON" OR "OSCILLOSCOPE" LICENSE?!

      You'll be fine unless sodering irons or oscilloscopes threaten corporate or governmental interests.

      Thank you lameness filter, I really appreciate that when quoting somebody else I get smacked and can't post what I'm trying to say. I'm full aware that all caps is similar to yelling. The original poster was yelling.
    • As already posted here a dozen times the illegal acts were the fact that he was selling modded XBoxes with 80 pirated games on the disk.
    • Have you read RMS' "Right to read" [gnu.org]? It talks about debuggers a bit, which one might see as the software equivalent of soldering irons and oscilloscopes.

      Definitely a thought-provoking piece, and you really have to wonder just how visionary RMS really was when he wrote it. I hope that he wasn't, for obvious reasons, but it's rather scary to see that the things he writes about are already here, even though applied on a different level (hardware instead of software).

  • How can chipping be illegal? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by David Horn ( 772985 ) <davidNO@SPAMpocketgamer.org> on Monday July 04, 2005 @05:06PM (#12981554) Homepage
    Regardless of the fact that this guy deserved to be punished, I can't see how chipping for a legitimate use (ie, to use it as a media centre etc) can possibly be illegal.

    I would hope that if I bought the hardware I'd be entitled to do whatever I liked to it, provided I didn't actually break the law by putting pirated games on it.

    I fail to see how taking a soldering iron to your X-Box can be interpreted as an illegal act.
    • I can't see how chipping for a legitimate use (ie, to use it as a media centre etc) can possibly be illegal.

      Because it is. The law is not about justice or morals or ethics, it's ultimately about what interest group can bribe the government to imprison or shoot their opponents.

      TWW

    • Re:How can chipping be illegal? (Score:5, Informative)

      by Mr2001 ( 90979 ) on Monday July 04, 2005 @05:37PM (#12981714) Homepage Journal
      Regardless of the fact that this guy deserved to be punished, I can't see how chipping for a legitimate use (ie, to use it as a media centre etc) can possibly be illegal.

      Did you miss this link [slashdot.org] in the submission? The fact that mod chips disable a copy protection mechanism makes them illegal, according to the court, whether or not they're actually used to play illegally copied games. The court makes case law. It's now up to UK legislators to change the situation.

      I would hope that if I bought the hardware I'd be entitled to do whatever I liked to it, provided I didn't actually break the law by putting pirated games on it.

      I would hope so too, but unfortunately, the DMCA and the EUCD were passed into law. Now, manufacturers can legally prevent you from doing what you want with the equipment you buy from them, by forcing you to disable access controls (thus breaking the law) in order to do it.
  • I believe it was Bobcat Goldthwait who said, "If you go on the Tonight Show, don't set the dressing room on fire!" There's a lesson here for Modman.

  • 80 games (Score:5, Funny)

    by jotux ( 660112 ) on Monday July 04, 2005 @05:09PM (#12981570)
    He probably wouldn't have been caught if he didn't include 80 games on the drive of every xbox he modded.

    That's like giving out 80 bags of hash with every bong you sell....the cops probly care more about the amount of hash you're giving out than they are the fact that you're selling bongs.
    • My God... if only you could pirate and easily clone hash...

      Excuse me, that's "infringe" on the hash.

      • Re:80 games (Score:3, Informative)

        by 1u3hr ( 530656 )
        My God... if only you could pirate and easily clone hash...

        Cloning Marijuana Made Simple. [marijuanapassion.com]

        There is no better way to preserve the quality and integrity of an exceptional marijuana plant, than to make an exact duplicate of it, and in her infinite wisdom, Mother Nature provided the means of doing just that. I'm going to teach you how to start with Marijuana Cloning!....

    • Re:80 games (Score:3, Interesting)

      by PhreakOfTime ( 588141 )
      Actually, in my state, Illinois. Paraphernalia is a class I misdemeanor, while the actual weed, hash, etc, is a class III misdemeanor. In other words, the drugs are just a step above a traffic ticket. But the bongs are just a step away from felony.



      But then again, theres also a law on the books that says it illegal to tie my horse on the south side of a street on a sunday.


      eh...

      • Re:80 games (Score:3, Interesting)

        by Jesus_666 ( 702802 )
        Bong are illegal over there? In Germany you can legally buy bongs and there are stores selling "smoking accessories", which can include everything from pipe cleaners to bongs.
        Weed is still illegal, but bongs are just water pipes and they aren't necessarily used for illegal activity. Just like BitTorrent, if you think about it.

  • Like software, I guess (Score:3, Insightful)

    by failedlogic ( 627314 ) on Monday July 04, 2005 @05:12PM (#12981589)
    I guess when I go to a store and pickup a box with hardware in it, its still regarded as software: you don't "own" anything, just the right to "use" it.

    Its an interesting conundrum which is only showing up in the computer age. If I bought a car tire, turned tied it to a tree and used it as a swing, I could do so. If I resold it as a swing, the manufacturers wouldn't care. It would still be an increase in their sales.

    What gives with computer hardware/software anyways? Why does it have to be so different? I think the only problem here (which I agree to) is that some mods can be used to play games which were copied without first buying them. I think to make this go away: 1) cheaper replacements for broken discs past warranty should be allowed (some companies charge $20 or $30! - the cost of the game), 2) allow for some way to mod it without circumventing the copy protection on the games while still allowing functionality.

    For example, with #2, if you want to mod your X-BOX as a weather station, to stream media in your house, to make the next Terminator robot, you should be allowed to - and even resell the design. In this way, you're using the hardware as you want to, MS makes the hardware sale (their prob if they sell at a loss) and you don't get to copy games.
    • This guy probably wouldn't have been busted if he didn't include a bunch of games with the modded Xboxes. The spin makes it sound like it was all about modding, but it was more about the 80 games he included with the things.

      But the thing about software. I do agree that some companies are trying to push the envelope when it comes to ownership versus a licence to "use" the software. But there's a reson for it.

      Sure, you can buy that tire and use it as a rope swing, but you can't copy the tire and equip
    • Its an interesting conundrum which is only showing up in the computer age. If I bought a car tire, turned tied it to a tree and used it as a swing, I could do so. If I resold it as a swing, the manufacturers wouldn't care. It would still be an increase in their sales.

      What if they sold the car tires at a loss assuming that you'll buy lots of gas (or something; tires are a weak metaphor) and the car companies get a cut of the gas price?

      The only reason a full computer is being sold at less than $150 is that

  • I'm sorry... (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Khyber ( 864651 ) <techkitsune@gmail.com> on Monday July 04, 2005 @05:14PM (#12981606) Homepage Journal
    But if I want an X-Box to be able to play games from another country that I've actually bought and had shipped over, and modding it is the only way to do it, shouldn't I, as the owner of this licensed box, be able to modify how it operates to work with software I own? Am I violating a copyright or am I violating the DMCA in any way? (I don't ethically think I am, since I legally purchased the items in question, and while I'm no lawyer, I believe it's my right to be able to make something made for the same platform, but from a different country, able to work with my system.)

    I personally think (mod me up/down/whatever) that this kind of ruling is stupid. I do not like this one bit, this seems to screw over everyone who wishes to make sure their system works with any software they buy that's "designed" for such a system. (This also makes me wonder, why develop PAL and NTSC? I mean, if you're going to make the system, (from now on replace system with XBox) and distribute it worldwide, should this XBox not have the same hardware, same BIOS, etc? Why the hell would I need to buy the same XBox, TWICE, from different countries just so I can play a game from a differnt land?

    Just to clear it up, I don't own an XBox (The whole statement above is a theoretical/POV one) and this is one of the reasons I'll *NEVER* buy a console, and instead wait for emulation.

  • Depends. (Score:4, Interesting)

    by jd ( 1658 ) <imipak&yahoo,com> on Monday July 04, 2005 @05:28PM (#12981662) Homepage Journal
    IANAL, but I know enough to know that "case law" is important in court. If this court case really did involve a judge ruling on an aspect of the XBox modding law, as opposed to software piracy or other incidental stuff, then it could be quite profound.


    It really doesn't matter, if my understanding of the legal system is even vaguely close to accurate, as to whether the person was "guilty" of software piracy, if he was in fact prosecuted under a different law entirely. What matters is what the judge ruled on, how and why.


    For example, if the judge said something along the lines of "the piracy was the offence, and the xbox mods were an aggravating factor", then I don't think there's anything to be too concerned about.


    On the other hand, if it was the reverse of that, that the mods were the offence, and the piracy was an aggravating factor, then there could be some implications, as that would imply that the piracy was merely a detail that made things worse, in the eyes of the law.


    Without clearer information on exactly what was said, and without some input from a legal expert who can give some interpretation, it's very hard to see what exactly this case means. However, if the latter idea (ie: mods are bad) is correct, then what we're seeing is probably the "worse possible case". In other words, someone who was caught selling modded boxes only would not be likely to get anything worse.


    Of course, the whole thing might be thrown out on appeal. The appeals process would go to the appeals court, then eventually to the House of Lords, and (if necessary) to the European Court of Human Rights. The House of Lords has a lot of grudge matches going with the House of Commons at the moment, so don't expect them to be sympathetic to the Government. The EU is in an even worse mood, so if it gets to them, almost anything could happen - and probably will.


    This is not like America, where the Government can throw around impeachment threats, whenever the Supreme Court rules against them. The Law Lords cannot be impeached by the sitting Government and have pretty much free reign to decide how they like. They are supposed to rule by the law, but when they get seriously narked by Government attitudes, they're just as likely to rule in retaliation.


    Most likely, it won't go to appeal, as the fine isn't super-huge and community service is unlikely to involve the rooftop of Stangeways, or the insides of Dartmoor's equally notorious prison. Depending on how many boxes were sold, he might easily cover the costs of the computers and the fines from his "income".

  • Just for fun (Score:5, Informative)

    by mcgroarty ( 633843 ) <brian...mcgroarty@@@gmail...com> on Monday July 04, 2005 @05:39PM (#12981724) Homepage
    The Slashdot writeup was completely rewritten. So people can make sense of comments... Bold face was added. Italic was removed.

    PipianJ writes "Remember the ruling in Britain which outlawed mod chips last year? BBC News is reporting that a man has been convicted of modding an Xbox and sentenced to 140 hours of community service, a fine of 750 pounds (about $1300), and the confiscation of his PCs and Xboxes From the article: "The man had been selling his modded Xboxs, instead of modding it for personal use, but what modified Xbox consoles which he fitted with a big hard drive containing 80 games. 'This case sets a major precedent does this set for casual homebrew gamers and importers?" which marks a milestone in the fight against piracy,' said games industry spokesman Michael Rawlinson."Update: 07/04 22:12 GMT by Z: Updated to more accurately discuss the story.

    • Static Control Components wasn't just modding ink cartridges, but they were selling them with a full tank of ink!!oneone1!

      What 80 games were on the drives? Doom 3, Halo, and the like or some home brewed pong, brick, and minesweeper? See how that changes the issue. Notice how irrelevant the process of modding is in that context? So modding is illegal, but that's ok because the law was used to slap a bad guy? No. Modding should be legal. Period. It's my hardware, it's my right. Should this guy recei

  • Pleas mark Zonk -1 Stupid (Score:5, Informative)

    by bmo ( 77928 ) on Monday July 04, 2005 @05:45PM (#12981752)
    The title of the story is unrelated to the meat of the story. It's like ordering filet mignon at a fancy restaurant from a pretentious waiter and getting a plate of Rhesus Pieces.

    This is about copyright theft, not modding. The title is uninformative and flame bait. Zonk should have known better than to release this story with that title.

    Watch this post get modded into oblivion. I don't care, my karma is bullet proof, bitch.

    --
    BMO

  • IMHO, anyone who thinks this is a .... (Score:3, Interesting)

    by dvdsmith ( 892766 ) on Monday July 04, 2005 @05:48PM (#12981764)
    precedent on Xbox modding is grossly mistaken. What we have here is a seller of pirated software that happened come with a modded Xbox. He deserves no sympathy and did a disservice to those in the "modding community" who are simply enthusiasts who like to see what their hardware can do (Installing Linux for instance). As a matter of fact, his sentence when compared to others convicted of software piracy may well be lenient. What isn't mentioned is just how many he sold. With the amount of information available on the web for modding Xboxes, I doubt he would have been noticed if not for the piracy. What this WILL do is drawn more attention on those with more modest goals. What he did was WRONG, and don't give me some "fight the power" garbage. BTW, I believe in fair use.

  • Balanced? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by t_allardyce ( 48447 ) on Monday July 04, 2005 @05:58PM (#12981806) Journal
    Its amazing, this guy actually did violate copyrights with piracy, for profit, and on quite a large scale and he gets a small fine and community service. Dimitry Skilerov violated no copyrights, in another country, and mearly talked about it and he got 6 months in prison.

    This brings me to another point: If the whole purpose of a copy-protection device is to stop you copying something, then why do you need a law to prohibit tampering with the device?? If its such an amazing piece of engineering why does it need legal protection? It seems like 'they' are getting the best of both worlds - they can have their copy-protection devices AND the law behind them when only ONE is actually necessary. Perhaps consoles should be sold under a contract making it clear that you don't actually own the console and you may not modify it. For fucks sake someone just choose one of these options, you cant have your cake and eat it too.

  • Fair use (Score:3, Informative)

    by t_allardyce ( 48447 ) on Monday July 04, 2005 @06:28PM (#12981922) Journal
    Just a point on fair use for imported games - with DVD's the region encoding and the scrambling are two separate things AFAIK. Throwing all controversy with DMCA/EUCA out for a moment, breaking the scrambling/CSS part of the DVD would clearly by illegal, but breaking the region coding is not in any way a copyright violation or a breaking of a copy-protection device. Assuming the XBox works the same way, modding for compatibility with imported titles is not the same as modding so that a copied disk can be used or so that it can load from a hard-drive. Hopefully that would stand up in court, although given how crappy the law is in the first place i doubt it.
  • Its imposible to avoid bias completely, but shouldnt an attempt be made to at least present all the facts ?

    Why wasn't the fact that the accused was allegedly selling the modded X-Boxen with pirated software presented in the post ? Just what is it that goes into selecting a submitted story to post ?

    The root name server story is another example if you wan't a mother lode skim the archives of the politics section.

    This story isn't about modding, it's not about hacking, It's not about fair use, It is abo

  • The Crime was modding (Score:4, Informative)

    by Pinky3 ( 22411 ) on Monday July 04, 2005 @08:46PM (#12982418) Homepage
    According the the BBC http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4650225.stm [bbc.co.uk] "the modification of video games consoles has been an illegal practice since October 2003, when the UK enacted the EU Copyright Directive."
    • I highly doubt they would go door to door busting people that bought a mod chip and installed it themselves. This guy was making money off doing something that was illegal on more then one level. Don't try to slant it to make it appear that it was some kind of vendetta against modders.
  • Damn! That means I'm stuck with info! And I hate info!

  • Conviction should be for pirating games (Score:4, Insightful)

    by mh101 ( 620659 ) on Monday July 04, 2005 @09:53PM (#12982667)
    ...not selling a modded X-Box.

    The man had been selling modified Xbox consoles which he fitted with a big hard drive containing 80 games.

    So, the bigger crime is that he sold modded X-Boxes, rather than the fact that he loaded it with 80, most definitely pirated, games??? What's the world coming to... That would be like if someone was arrested for having a hydroponics setup, rather than for the large marijuana crop that individual was growing.

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