Australian body calls for mod-chip legalisation

June 23, 2004

DamnedIfIknow used our news submit to tell us: What kind of "dip"
would you like with that mod "chip"? 🙂

The reason this is coming to a head right now, is
it seems there's a new proposal for a levy on media and recording devices. Top
that off with legislation against 'mod chips' and consumers are getting the
short end of the stick down under, while corporations are getting a nice cut of
the action they might not deserve. The Australian Consumers Association thinks
it's a bit like double dipping.

Britton said the proposal behoved
authorities to address a raft of issues surrounding consumers" fair use of
copyright material, including that of mod chips, which are currently
outlawed in Australia.The ACA has recommended that the use of mod chips be
made legal under Australian copyright laws. However, such a move is likely
to anger consoles gaming industry giants like Microsoft and Sony, the
latter having fought a lengthy, high-profile legal campaign to stop the
use of the mod chips in its game consoles in Australia.

According to ACA senior policy
officer for IT and communications, Charles Britton, the need for a
review is made all the more urgent by Federal Parliament's upcoming deliberation
of the US Free Trade Agreement (FTA) which may see Australia adopt what he
described as a "draconian US line on copyright".

Source: ZDNet