ACCC Defends the Rights of Playstation Owners

I found this on another site that might interest those who live in Australia..

ACCC Defends the Rights of Playstation Owners

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is intervening in an important Federal Court copyright case mounted by Sony. The ACCC is seeking to defend the rights of millions of Playstation owners.

The ACCC fears that if Sony are successful in the court action, consumers stand to lose money on games purchased overseas at significantly cheaper prices by being denied the right to use them in Australia. The ACCC has put to the Federal Court an argument contrary to that of Sony which, if accepted, will mean Playstation users can continue to rightly enjoy unrestricted use of the goods they own.

Sony Computer Entertainment Australia and related companies are seeking in the Federal Court case to have new provisions of the Copyright Act 1968 applied in such a manner as to prevent consumers from having the region coding in their Playstation consoles modified. The device which permits region coding modification is called a ?mod chip? which, once installed, permits the use of imported Playstation games and legitimate backup copies.

The Commission?s intervention comes in the form of an application to be heard as a ?friend of the court? (amicus curiae).

Region Coding

The ACCC has for some time been investigating the regional playback control (RPC) technology present in DVD players and accompanying films. The ACCC is aware that DVD RPC effectively divides the world into six regions for the purposes of DVD distribution, preventing inter-region substitution of discs and hardware. The practical effect of RPC is that a consumer who has purchased a DVD player in Australia may be prevented from playing films obtained from overseas. The ACCC believes that overseas markets give Australian consumers access to a wider range of competitively priced film titles, with special features not otherwise available in Australia. In the ACCC?s view, this means Australian consumers are forced to pay higher prices for films with fewer features and a lesser range of film titles.

RPC is also present in Playstation technology, albeit on a more limited scale. Playstation, which is produced by the various Sony computer entertainment companies, is distributed according to three regional zones: North America, Japan (which covers all of Asia), and Europe, which includes Australia. The RPC restrictions in Playstations can be overcome by installing a mod chip in a Playstation console.

ACCC Involvement in Sony?s Court Action

The ACCC has been granted leave to be heard in Sony?s action in the Federal Court in relation to whether modifying Playstation consoles infringes the new parts of the Copyright Act 1968.

"The ACCC is contending that a multi-national company, Sony Computer Entertainment, is moving in this particular case to prevent Australian consumers from reaping the benefits of globalisation", ACCC Chairman, Professor Allan Fels, said today. "It is apparent that Sony is seeking to have an Australian law interpreted to prevent such consumers from enjoying games bought off-shore. The ACCC will submit to the court that Sony\'s interpretation of the law is legally incorrect and will present arguments to that effect".

The ACCC?s application to be a \'friend of the court\' was made in response to proceedings taken by Sony and related Sony companies against a person who provides \'mod chipping\' services. \'Mod chipping\' allows modification of Playstation consoles to enable Playstation software, including personal imports and legitimate backup copies, to be used.

"Consumers? interests are best served by ensuring access to the widest possible range of goods at the most competitive prices. Sony has overridden this basic consumer right by creating and maintaining artificial barriers to trade that the ACCC claims are not warranted by the law".

The Playstation technology is popular with Australians of all age groups, and unfortunately Australian consumers still have to endure a significantly smaller range of game titles, at much higher prices, and for which it is not uncommon to be officially released into the Australian market well after they are released overseas.

Professor Fels acknowledged that while the Copyright Act stops Australian retailers and wholesalers from importing computer software, such as Playstation games, for resale or other commercial purposes, consumers are lawfully entitled to buy such items from overseas for personal use.

"But consumers who import such games for their own use, for example via the Internet or when overseas, face a significant threat from Sony\'s court action. Sony is seeking to block the sale and installation of mod chips which overcome RPC restrictions.

"Recent amendments to the Copyright Act include a new enforcement regime which outlaws the manufacture and supply of devices or the provision of services, which over-ride copy control measures.

"Sony, in these proceedings, contends that the installation of mod chips is a breach of these new \'anti-circumvention\' provisions.

"The ACCC argues that the new law was aimed at ensuring that creators can act to protect their copyright from digital infringement in the on-line environment", Professor Fels said. ?The typical scenarios to which the new law is expected to apply include situations where someone makes, sells or distributes a device which overrides password protection or computer program locks. In our view, the law was only intended to ensure that legitimate mechanisms employed by owners of copyright are not over-ridden.

"The ACCC will submit to the Court that RPC does not exist to protect against copyright infringement. RPC prevents the use of imported games. It also restricts the use of copied games. It is not illegal under current copyright legislation to play either imported or copied games. It is, however, illegal to import games for commercial resale or distribution purposes, and it is also illegal to make unauthorised copies of games except for backup purposes. These actions may amount to copyright infringement under the current law, but the act of simply playing a disc does not. On this basis, the ACCC cannot see how Sony can maintain an argument that RPC, in preventing the playback of certain games, is designed to prevent or inhibit copyright infringement.

"The ACCC is greatly concerned that Sony will apply the new provisions in a way not intended by the Parliament, to the detriment of consumer welfare. We are therefore taking on Sony as a multinational power to stop it misusing its intellectual property rights in order to oppress not just competition, but the Australian mums, dads and kids who have bought this Sony product in good faith.

"Being a new provision which has not yet been considered judicially in this country, the ACCC is keen to assist the Court in every way in considering the proper application of the law.

"The ACCC notes that Sony\'s action also involves claims relating to the sale of pirated Playstation games. The ACCC is not involved in this aspect of the case. More generally, the ACCC is not acting on behalf of the individual concerned, nor to protect his interests. Its interest is purely in ensuring that consumers are not barred from making the most of world trade and their legitimate rights under the Copyright Act.

?The ACCC wants to ensure that creators are not deprived of their rightful rewards by the perpetration of unlawful activities such as piracy. The ACCC expects that those who breach the law are appropriately dealt with".

Professor Fels noted that a recent review of the various intellectual property statutes undertaken by the Intellectual Property and Competition Review Committee recommended repeal of the parallel importation restrictions on computer software.

"The ACCC has long supported abolishing intellectual property import monopolies. If the recommendation of the IPCRC in relation to this issue is adopted by Parliament, consumers? access to a vast range of competitively priced goods will be significantly expanded.

"But if creators such as Sony are allowed to maintain artificial trade barriers using technological means, any consumer benefits of legislative reform in this area will be negated.

"It stands to reason that the ACCC has an interest in ensuring that rights holders are not permitted to erect further barriers in the face of continuing liberalisation".

Further information

Professor Allan Fels, Chairman, (03) 9290 1812 or pager (02) 6285 6170

Ms Lin Enright, Director, Public Relations, (02) 6243 1108 or mobile (0414) 613 520

MR 22/02

8 February 2002

And here is someone that wrote an email to UK playstation..
Read the first paragraph of their replay.

I am rather miffed has to why you are stopping the
sale of chips for the ps2.

Firstly I own a japanese PS2. For me toimport original jap
games would cost a small fortune.
I therefore was going to by a messiah or neo 4 chip so
that i could boot original uk games on my jap machine.
now i am not able to do this.

Can you therefore tell me why i cant put a chip in a
machine that I OWN and is now my property. If i was
renting from you it would be your property and i could
then understand not allowing me to have it chipped.
But as i said i own it and should be able to do what i
want with my property.

i suppose you are going to mention it allows you to
play copied games. I understand this. so why do you
put a terriorial lock on the different ps2\'s. if you
didnt do this, the majority of people wouldnt need
chips to boot originals from any country.

Also if the cost of games where reasonably priced (say
£20) piracy would be almost stamped out. But we keep
hearing how piracy forces the cost of games up, and
that amount has to be charged to recover losses. but
in reality cheeper games = more sales of originals
instead of bootlegs.

I look forward to your reply regarding my above points
with great expectation.

Thankyou.

Mern_Uk@yahoo.co.uk
__________________________________________________
__

Dear Simon,

Thanks for the email.

The PS2 was designed to withstand most *******s. The territoral lock you speak of was implemented by the Japanese developers. Chipping is not illegal but opens may doors for pirate copies of games made to a very poor quality and costing the consumer a lot of money time.

Poeple who pirate games not only steal from the companies who make and publish the game but, also they steal from the public with below par shoddy copies with little or no money back and no consideration orknowledge of what they are doing in the long term.

Pirating has been happening for a number of years. Game prices for new games consoles have always been around the £40 mark. This is evident when the SNES and the Sega Megadrive were competeing on the games market. New released games on these formats would retail very high and then drop away after a few months.This trend is still goes on today.

As the games on newer consoles have become CD based,
pirateing has become much more widespread and with the introduction of the CD writer it still thrives today.

The territorial lock puts a slight dampener on the average pirate
copier so that they cannot expand world wide to easily.

Regrettably if you have your PS2 chipped then should it become faulty Playstation cannot offer any exchange. A repair can be done but it will be very costly and time consuming.

If you have any further queries please contact us at the playstation
careline on: 08705 99 88 77.

Kind Regards

Danny
Consumer Services Assistant

Chipping is not illegal