In a same case in The Netherlands Sony won and made commercial modding of PlayStations illegal. The Australians however seem to have a more realistic view on modifying their consoles so you can play import games and (your own) back-ups:
Sony has failed persuade an Australian Federal Court that using modification chips necessarily violates copyright laws. |
Honourable Justice Ronald Sackville ruled that Sony had failed to establish that mod chips constituted a "technological protection measure" that protected the copyright of its games software. If mod chips don't protect copyright then selling them does not violate copyright laws, he reasoned.
On this narrow basis the judge rejected the console maker's claim for damages against Sydney businessman Eddy Stevens for supplying mod chips. Stevens, however, was seperately found guilty of selling pirated games.
Although the ruling is been seen as a victory for PlayStation owners who use mod chips to play games bought outside Australia, the case merely establishes a lower threshold for what can be seen as effective copyright protections measures.
This is narrow victory for mod chip users, and one achieved , judging by the court documents, mainly made because Sony messed up the presentation of its case.
Sony forgets that you can order modchips everywhere, no matter wich country you live, so they will never stop it 100%. You can read the full story here.
Source: TheRegister
