D0GG Posted July 6, 2005 Share Posted July 6, 2005 For the first time in the UK, a man has been convicted for illegally modding games consoles.The 22-year-old was found guilty at Caerphilly Magistrates Court for his sideline in extended Xboxes. He sold the Microsoft consoles via his website for £380, having fitted them with a 200GB hard drive and 80 pre-installed games.ELSPA (the Entertainment & Leisure Software Publishers Association) led the investigation, informing the Gwent Constabulary and Caerphilly County Borough Council Trading Standards. It stated that the retail cost of the package he put together, if it was genuine and unmodified, would have been around £3,000.This case today sets a major precedent which marks a milestone in the fight against piracy and in protecting the games industry's intellectual property,' said Mike Rawlinson, deputy director general of ELSPA. '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 prioritising - it is encouraging to see the UK courts do the same,' added Rawlinson.As it was his first offence, the man was ordered to do 140 hours if community service, pay £750 costs and forfeit all of the equipment that was seized. This included three tower PCs, two printers, three Xbox consoles and 38 hard-drives.The modification of consoles has been illegal since October 2003, when the Patent Office brought it under the scope of the Copyright Directive Act. This made the whole process of chipping consoles illegal, including selling and advertising chips as well as providing a service for chipping.Source Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myidisbb Posted July 6, 2005 Share Posted July 6, 2005 one could say that under this you could not even make your own computer. nor can you fix your console if it gets broken ei ps2 and xbox dvd player with the D&D error. there is no difference between a console and a computer. therefor you could not change anything on a hp or dell computer in britian. no updating the software nor installing other stuff. kind of makes 4th of july more special. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tensegg Posted July 6, 2005 Share Posted July 6, 2005 well, they've been working on that for a while now, just say ---->NO!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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