Mod Chips Legal In the UK 169
An anonymous reader writes "Good news out of the UK! Techdirt reports that an appeals court has overturned a lower court ruling and has now said that mod chips do not violate copyright laws. The case involved a mod chip seller, who imported mod chips for the XBox from Hong Kong and would sell the chips or mod the Xbox's himself. He was charged with copyright infringement and found guilty by a lower court. The appeals court has dismissed all charges, however."
This is ridiculous... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:This is ridiculous... (Score:5, Insightful)
Fortunately the 'first sale' principal has held up in most places where it has been tested, so your argument seems to hold true.
But to stretch your argument until it breaks, if you buy a gun then it's yours, but you still aren't allowed to modify it in such a way that it is illegal (eg upgrade it to semi automatic, saw of the barrel(s) to make it easier to conceal). Likewise if a law is introduced that says you cannot modify your games console to allow it to play illegal games then your argument is incorrect, and I think that is what was being tested here (although I think they were trying to make an existing law apply rather than testing a law brought in to address that problem specifically).
Re:I seriously doubt (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:This is ridiculous... (Score:3, Insightful)
Wider relevance (Score:4, Insightful)
Does this establish that the whole idea of it being a crime to provide a service that allows others to circumvent copyright is going to fall apart?
i.e. will they still be shutting down sites like tv-links.co.uk which was only linking to copyright infringing material, not providing it?
Re:Of course they don't violate ... copyright ... (Score:5, Insightful)
great point. I have been saying for some time, that as there are so many laws that its impossible for any individual to be aware of all legislation that pertains to them, how can it be possible for a well-meaning individual to obey said laws? Therefore how can this legislation be valid?
Re:Expect anti-modchip legislation in 3, 2, 1... (Score:3, Insightful)
There are situations where this viewpoint is entirely valid, and some where it is not. Thats why we have the judiciary in the first place.
Re:Of course they don't violate ... copyright ... (Score:5, Insightful)
Nobody protects my playback. Actually, the opposite takes place.
Re:Of course they don't violate ... copyright ... (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Chips Legal but... (Score:3, Insightful)
Unless of course the companies are willing to furnish a brand new copy for a damaged or destroyed old copy rather than milk the customer for another $20 for a DVD or $60 for a game.
Re:Expect anti-modchip legislation in 3, 2, 1... (Score:5, Insightful)
You still need a modchip to run homebrew (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Of course they don't violate ... copyright ... (Score:3, Insightful)
That is, after all, what most people choose to do.
Clearing misunderstood words (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:EULA ? (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Of course they don't violate ... copyright ... (Score:4, Insightful)
(1) We want to prevent copyright infringement (see why copyright infringement is illegal).
(2) Banning possession of mod chips will help achieve (1) as pirated games cannot be played.
(3) Banning sale of mod chips is easier than (2) as it is easier to prosecute ten distributors than a thousand consumers.
(4) Politicians decide, rightly or wrongly, "allowing import games and backup copies" is wanted only by a small fraction of people.
(5) Politicians judge that our collective desire from (1) to prevent copyright infringement, scaled by the effectiveness of (2) and (3), is greater than our desire from (4) for the non-piracy benefits of mod chips.
There are other examples of laws like this; driving fast doesn't harm people, vehicle/vehicle and vehicle/pedestrian collisions harm people. But we regulate vehicle speed to achieve the goal of regulating vehicle/vehicle and vehicle/pedestrian collisions because vehicle speed is easier to regulate.
Old saying still applies (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:This is ridiculous... (Score:3, Insightful)
If the cost of an xbox is a lifetime lease, then the product should be accompanied by lifetime warranty, lifetime repair as well. When leasing a house or car, you are responsible for damage to the property, normally paid on termination of the lease. This process is not in use for the xbox, indicating that it is NOT a lease, but a sale. Where lifetime == term of the lease.
I've not explained that correctly, but under the law MS has not acted like someone renting out games consoles. They behave like someone selling them. Until that changes, doctrine of first sale applies.
The movie rental place by my house 'rents' games consoles, and they act like they are renting it. MS does not do that, and charges a different price as well. Intent has a lot to do with how many judicial processes look at things. Intent to murder and accident are two different things as an example.
Just how I see it.
Re:Clearing misunderstood words (Score:1, Insightful)
Re:This is ridiculous... (Score:3, Insightful)
1. Download it
2. Burn it
3. Put it in the console
Otherwise, it is just a chip with code on it. Nothing more. YOU have to make the decision to play a game that you do not legally own. Not the console or the modchip.
To continue your gun example... I might go out and kill someone with my gun.
Would making my gun fire faster want to make me kill more? No.
Would making it easier to conceal make me want to kill more? No.
Would it make it easier? Well, duh. That's not the issue. It was possible before I modded it to kill someone with my gun, and it is still possible after I mod it. All that is changed is how easy it was to kill someone with it.
It was possible to play games I don't own before--all I had to do was steal them from the store. Pretty easy, with how lax stores are these days with camera security and such... But the fact of the matter is that I had to steal something somehow. Not the console, the chip, or anything else. Me.
*** I used myself as an example, and I do not own any stolen games. Nor do I plan on owning any stolen games. And I don't plan on going out and killing anybody any time soon either. ****
Re:Clearing misunderstood words (Score:4, Insightful)
Don't abuse labels (Score:4, Insightful)
Maybe it was funny a year ago (to him at least), but come on...stop abusing labels, they aren't that useful to begin with, don't make it even worse!
Re:Big Time Wrong (Score:2, Insightful)