Sony wins Appeal: Sale of Mod Chips now illegal in Australia

In an Australian Federal Court Decision, Sony's appeal in a previous mod-chip related court case (see below) has been upheld. The court's decision makes it illegal in Australia to add any components to a video game console to defeat region encoding or the copy protection. The Full Court also reaffirmed that there is no right to make a backup copy of a PlayStation game.

Perhaps confusingly, the use of mod chips is still legal in Australia. It is only the supply of the devices that is now prohibited. (Source: http://www.out-law.com/php/page.php?page_id=saleofmodchipsno1059738203&area=news)


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Playstation Mod Chips Legal in Australia

Sony loses Anti-Mod-Chip Battle in Australian Federal Court

July 29th, 2002

In a landmark decision, the Australian Federal Court ruled that mod chips can be used legally in Australia. The ruling was based mostly on the fact that Sony's protection mechanism that is defeated by Playstation mod chips goes beyond copyright protection. The regional country lockout prevents Australians from access to games released in other countries, such as US and Japan, thus restricting their choice. Sony could not prove that mod chips were manufactured and sold exclusively for the purpose of copyright violation.

The court was aided by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission ("ACCC") as amicus curiae ("Friend of the Court"). "Australian consumers can now enjoy games legitimately bought overseas, as well as authorised back-up copies, by legally having their consoles chipped", said ACCC chairman professor Allan Fels. He said recent amendments to the Copyright Act meant it was illegal to make or supply a device designed to overcome copyright protection, providing those measures had no commercially significant purpose other than protecting copyright.

Read the full text of the Australian Federal Court Proceedings of this case here.