Judge deems PS2 mod chips illegal in UK

[Lefteris_D]

The UK High Court has judged that the sale, advertisement, possession for commercial purposes and use of PlayStation 2 modification chips is illegal in this country.

Under the UK's implementation of the European Union Copyright Directive (EUCD), Europe's answer to the controversial US Digital Millennium Copyright Act, it is illegal to bypass copy protection mechanisms. On that basis Mr Justice Laddie ruled that David Ball had acted unlawfully by selling 1500 Messiah 2 mod chips which enabled such circumvention.
Cash`n`Carrion

The Messiah chips were offered as a way to allow UK PS2s not only to play legitimate US and Japanese games, but pirated titles and back-up copies made by users, which Sony forbids in the UK.

The UK enacted the EUCD in October 2003. The Directive has similarly been enacted in a number of other EU member states, allowing Sony to pursue mod chip sellers. Recently, it won just such a case in Belgium.

That said, there have been setbacks. Earlier this year, the Italian court ruled that mod chips are legal on the basis that it's up to the user, not Sony, how they use their PS2. It even went so far as to name mod chips as crucial tools to "avoid monopolistic positions".

And in Spain, it emerged that a loophole in Spanish copyright law legalises mod chips even though they run contrary to the spirit of the country's intellectual property legislation.
Full article from The Register. (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/07/21/ps2_mod_chip_win/)

[belmont]

In Italy the court said modchips are legal !!!

You can do everything in something you own.I personally have changed my PS2's modchip twice !!

[Mourgos]

Surprise,surprise.As if it is the first time that UK follows the footsteps of the US.We must remember these things the next time we complain about idiotic things in our country...at least we'll know we're not the only ones.

[onewecallgod]

mod chips arent illegal in the US....

[Mourgos]

How the hell did I have the impression that they where???

If that's so I must apologise for my ignorance.

[Lefteris_D]

The original purpose of the modchips were to allow us to play games from other regions(example: US games on European consoles) and also play backups in case the game disk we bought got damaged.

Some people however took advantage of the fact that modchips disable the protection mechanisms of the consoles to allow them to play backups and used it for piracy reasons.

The fact that modchips are mainly used to help piracy is the whole issue and everyone knows that.

Just tell me if you know any people that installed a modchip and did not buy pirated games or even made copies themselves... I know that the list is very short :rolleyes:

[Mourgos]

We all also know that guns are made for killing but they don't have such a problem to give gun licences.
Anyway you own your console and you have the right to do whatever you want with it and installing a mod chip doesn't force you to break any copyright laws.You have the right to be able to make your machine able to play pirated playstation games,cause the fact alone doesn't break any copyright made by any company does.Only games are copyrighted.
Next thing they must do according to that logic is to make cars illegal because they can be used in taking you to buy pirated CD's ...

[onewecallgod]

its just like cd burners, not banned, but the vast majority are used for illegal purposes

[Corey4666]

dude i saw that topic somewhere before
do u think eventually modchips will be illegal period
and like in every state? :(

[Zach]

Originally posted by Mourgos@Jul 23 2004, 10:54 AM
We all also know that guns are made for killing but they don't have such a problem to give gun licences.
Anyway you own your console and you have the right to do whatever you want with it and installing a mod chip doesn't force you to break any copyright laws.You have the right to be able to make your machine able to play pirated playstation games,cause the fact alone doesn't break any copyright made by any company does.Only games are copyrighted.
Next thing they must do according to that logic is to make cars illegal because they can be used in taking you to buy pirated CD's ...
What the FUCK are you smoking dude ?

The majority of people out there using burners are making backups of data on their PC like spreadsheets, word files, pictures, etc.

You could no more make burners illegal because people use them to pirate, than you could make a car illegal cause someone used one to go buy pirated material. Thats just fucking retarded to even try to argue.

When you buy software you buy a liscense that grants you the right to install a copy of that software onto the PC. You technically do not own it.

Just like you buy the right to view porn online, you don't own anything but you are granted access to the materials.

Modifying your hardware and the right to do so is a situation of circumstance. If you deliberately modify your hardware for the specific reason of playing illegal copies, then in the eyes of the law your hardware has most likely become illegal.

Just like when some kid walks into a store and buys some white boys or blunts (which are perfectly legal by themselves) , and then goes and rolls a joint, it becomes part of the illegal act and ALL of it could be confiscated during an arrest.

Lets not beat around the bush here. Every person who bitches about these types of laws are just getting pissed cause they can't get shit for freee anymore and play their downloaded games. Well tough shit. Stop hiding behind stupid consumer laws that allow the backup of certain media that are prone to damage, you are only hurting the people who legitimately backup stuff.

Also. only games are copyrighted ? You need to get out more.

By the way sherlock, there are a lot of places in the U.S where you need a liscense to carry a firearm. I don't even understand what the point of brining up guns is.

[Jet Set Willy]

You've made a glaring error there, Neco - expecting anything other than horseshit nonsense to be posted by Emulator-Zone representatives.

[Corey4666]

Originally posted by Neco+Aug 22 2004, 07:14 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Neco @ Aug 22 2004, 07:14 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-Mourgos@Jul 23 2004, 10:54 AM
We all also know that guns are made for killing but they don&#39;t have such a problem to give gun licences.
Anyway you own your console and you have the right to do whatever you want with it and installing a mod chip doesn&#39;t force you to break any copyright laws.You have the right to be able to make your machine able to play pirated playstation games,cause the fact alone doesn&#39;t break any copyright made by any company does.Only games are copyrighted.
Next thing they must do according to that logic is to make cars illegal because they can be used in taking you to buy pirated CD&#39;s ...
What the FUCK are you smoking dude ?

The majority of people out there using burners are making backups of data on their PC like spreadsheets, word files, pictures, etc.

You could no more make burners illegal because people use them to pirate, than you could make a car illegal cause someone used one to go buy pirated material. Thats just fucking retarded to even try to argue.

When you buy software you buy a liscense that grants you the right to install a copy of that software onto the PC. You technically do not own it.

Just like you buy the right to view porn online, you don&#39;t own anything but you are granted access to the materials.

Modifying your hardware and the right to do so is a situation of circumstance. If you deliberately modify your hardware for the specific reason of playing illegal copies, then in the eyes of the law your hardware has most likely become illegal.

Just like when some kid walks into a store and buys some white boys or blunts (which are perfectly legal by themselves) , and then goes and rolls a joint, it becomes part of the illegal act and ALL of it could be confiscated during an arrest.

Lets not beat around the bush here. Every person who bitches about these types of laws are just getting pissed cause they can&#39;t get shit for freee anymore and play their downloaded games. Well tough shit. Stop hiding behind stupid consumer laws that allow the backup of certain media that are prone to damage, you are only hurting the people who legitimately backup stuff.

Also. only games are copyrighted ? You need to get out more.

By the way sherlock, there are a lot of places in the U.S where you need a liscense to carry a firearm. I don&#39;t even understand what the point of brining up guns is. [/b][/quote]
ummm.....Neco
the reason he brought the fact of guns up is probly cuz hes trying to make a point
you dont have to be so offensive

[Zach]

Originally posted by Jet Set Willy@Aug 23 2004, 12:55 AM
You&#39;ve made a glaring error there, Neco - expecting anything other than horseshit nonsense to be posted by Emulator-Zone representatives.
I must admit you are correct :ph34r:


And Corey. thats probably the nicest I could have been. Unless you totally humiliate people around here, they often do not get the point through their thick skulls.

And again. The firearms arguement is moot. There is also no "fact" present in his statement about them.

[Lefteris_D]

Out of all people Mourgos must know what a huge problem Playstation Piracy is. People dont install modchips to run homebrew software or to use import game disks but to play cheap games that they buy just for €10 instead of paying the full price.


That gun example was stupid.

[Jet Set Willy]

I agree with Lefteris.


(Ha&#33; Bet you never heard that before).

[Lefteris_D]

I should post some pictures of people selling pirated CD&#39;s on the street for more proof but my camera is not working any more.

Originally posted by Jet Set Willy@Aug 23 2004, 02:40 PM
I agree with Lefteris.


(Ha&#33; Bet you never heard that before).
Ah&#33; My eyes, my eyes&#33;&#33;&#33;

[Jet Set Willy]

Yes. It was all a cunning plan to make you go blind.

[Zach]

Originally posted by Jet Set Willy@Aug 23 2004, 12:40 PM
I agree with Lefteris.


(Ha&#33; Bet you never heard that before).
LOL

[ray]

that&#39;s pretty retarded.

[Mourgos]

The gun and every other trully irrelevant example was just to point out that you can&#39;t forbid sth just because there is a possible way to use it in illegal activities.Even if the majority uses sth for illegal activities it&#39;s not the actual "tools" that make the illegal activity rather than tha action itself.

As Neco said:"Modifying your hardware and the right to do so is a situation of circumstance. If you deliberately modify your hardware for the specific reason of playing illegal copies, then in the eyes of the law your hardware has most likely become illegal."

But the case is that the law is not in position to know your purposes until you&#39;ve done sth illegal.Noone can prove that you&#39;ve modified your hardware to play illegal copies until you&#39;ve played them.So in order for your hardware to be illegal "in the eyes of the law" you must have already commited sth illegal-they just cannot call them illegal in advance.

That was the point I was trying to make,alright?

And Lefteris,just because almost everyone uses mod chips to play copied games on their PS2,doesn&#39;t mean that we must all lose the right to modify our hardware(PS or not) the way we please just as we can modify any other machinery.e.g. someone may find a way in the future to modify a ps2 to play computer games,or to increase it&#39;s performance.You can&#39;t forbid him to use his creativity to alter sth he owns to serve his own special needs.

[WellWellWell]

What is "sth"?

[animemulator]

This is Bull. So noiw dudes in the Uk can&#39;t have mod chips, How Many people can tell me Whats wrong with that.
I agree that selling the roms is wrong but using them Puleez.
Can Anyone gess what i do almost everyday to keep everything backed up on my computer. thats right i burn discs. So when are they gonna make that illegal.

[Jet Set Willy]

Don&#39;t be stupid, of course mod chips will still be easily available. It&#39;s not the sort of law which scares away anybody with half a brain.

[El Fugitivo]

Originally posted by WellWellWell@Aug 31 2004, 04:29 PM
What is "sth"?
I think it means something, but I really don&#39;t know. It annoys me to no end, though.

[animemulator]

I have something to say to any pirates out there BITE MY SHINY METAL @&#036;&#036;.
Heres hoping they don&#39;t outlaw Burning discs, which is basicily the same thing.