[news=http://img170.imageshack.us/img170/8583/xbox4wo.gif]Man convicted for chipping Xbox
BBC News Online, 4th July 2005.
A 22-year-old man has become the first person in the UK to be convicted for
modifying a video games console.
The Cambridge graduate was sentenced at Caerphilly Magistrates Court to 140
hours of community service.
The man had been selling modified Xbox consoles which he fitted with a big
hard drive containing 80 games.
"This case sets a major precedent which marks a milestone in the fight against
piracy," said games industry spokesman Michael Rawlinson.
Bypass controls
The conviction is the first of its kind in the UK, where the modification of
video games consoles has been an illegal practice since October 2003, when
the UK enacted the EU Copyright Directive.
Under that directive, it is illegal to circumvent copy protection systems.
Consoles such as the Xbox and PlayStation 2 can be modified by chips that are
soldered to a console's main circuit board to bypass copyright controls.
The chips allow people to play games purchased legitimately in other
countries, as well as running backup copies or bootleg discs.
In this case, the man was tracked down by an investigator working for the UK
games industry trade body, the Entertainment & Leisure Software Publishers
Association, (Elspa).
The man, who has not yet been named, was selling modified Xbox consoles,
fitted with a 200GB hard drive and 80 pre-installed games, via his website
for £380.
Elspa informed Caerphilly County Borough Council Trading Standards and Gwent
Constabulary, as well as helping to collect forensic evidence used by the
prosecution.
The man was sentenced to 140 hours community service and ordered to pay £750
in costs. The court also seized his equipment - three PCs, two printers,
three Xbox consoles and 38 hard drives.
"It sends a clear message to anyone tempted to become involved in chipping
consoles that this is a criminal offence and will be dealt with accordingly,"
said Mr Rawlinson, deputy director general of Elspa.
"The modification of consoles is an activity that Elspa's anti-piracy team is
prioritising. It is encouraging to see the UK courts do the same."
In July last year, Sony won a legal battle to ban the selling of mod chips in
the UK.
Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4650225.stm[/news]
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