First conviction under Copyright Directive Act for chipping Xbox |
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Published
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Thu, 07 Jul 2005 09:35
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In a landmark ruling, the Caerphilly Magistrates Court has found a 22-year-old Cambridge graduate guilty of chipping games consoles. This is the first such conviction in the UK. It also happens to be the first time that a person has actually been brought to the book for such practices.
The person, whose name was not released to the media, had developed a method called as 'chipping' to modify Microsoft's gaming console, the Xbox. He was then rerouting these machines through his own website and was retailing them for about £380. The consoles were fitted with a 200GB hard drive and 80 pre-installed games. A normal, genuine and unmodified console retails for about £3,000. The man was sentenced to 140 hours of community service and pay £750 as costs.
He also had to let go of the three Xbox consoles, three tower PCs, two printers and the 38 hard-drives that were seized from him.
The investigation into this incident was led by the ELSPA (the Entertainment & Leisure Software Publishers Association), whose deputy director general Mike Rawlinson said that this case would set a major precedent and mark a milestone in the fight against piracy and in protecting the games industry's intellectual property, "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. The modification of consoles is an activity that ELSPA's anti-piracy team is prioritizing - it is encouraging to see the UK courts do the same," Mr. Rawlinson added.
Under the Copyright Directive Act of October 2003, modification of the gaming consoles is an illegal practice. The man in question was let off lightly since this was his first offence.
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