Importing consoles and how to shut lik-sang

[hey69]

pretty heavy..:

http://www.lik-sang.com/news.php?artc=3901

Hong Kong, October 24th of 2006 - Lik-Sang.com, the popular gaming retailer from Hong Kong, has today announced that it is forced to close down due to multiple legal actions brought against it by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Limited and Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Sony claimed that Lik-Sang infringed its trade marks, copyright and registered design rights by selling Sony PSP consoles from Asia to European customers, and have recently obtained a judgment in the High Court of London (England) rendering Lik-Sang's sales of PSP consoles unlawful.

As of today, Lik-Sang.com will not be in the position to accept any new orders and will cancel and refund all existing orders that have already been placed. Furthermore, Lik-Sang is working closely with banks and PayPal to refund any store credits held by the company, and the customer support department is taking care of any open transactions such as pending RMAs or repairs and shipping related matters. The staff of Lik-Sang will make sure that nobody will get hurt in the crossfire of this ordeal.

A Sony spokesperson declined to comment directly on the lawsuit against Lik-Sang, but recently went on to tell Gamesindustry.biz that "ultimately, we're trying to protect consumers from being sold hardware that does not conform to strict EU or UK consumer safety standards, due to voltage supply differences et cetera; is not - in PS3's case - backwards compatible with either PS1 or PS2 software; will not play European Blu-Ray movies or DVDs; and will not be covered by warranty".

Lik Sang strongly disagrees with Sony's opinion that their customers need this kind of protection and pointed out that PSP consoles shipped from Lik-Sang contained genuine Sony 100V-240V AC Adapters that carry CE and other safety marks and are compatible world wide. All PSP consoles were in conformity with all EU and UK consumer safety regulations.

Furthermore, Sony have failed to disclose to the London High Court that not only the world wide gaming community in more than 100 countries relied on Lik-Sang for their gaming needs, but also Sony Europe's very own top directors repeatedly got their Sony PSP hard or software imports in nicely packed Lik-Sang parcels with free Lik-Sang Mugs or Lik-Sang Badge Holders, starting just two days after Japan's official release, as early as 14th of December 2004 (more than nine months earlier than the legal action). The list of PSP related Sony Europe orders reads like the who's who of the videogames industry, and includes Ray Maguire (Managing Director, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Ltd), Alan Duncan (UK Marketing Director, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Ltd), Chris Sorrell (Creative Director, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Ltd), Rob Parkin (Development Director, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Limited), just to name a few.

"Today is Sony Europe victory about PSP, tomorrow is Sony Europe’s ongoing pressure about PlayStation 3. With this precedent set, next week could already be the stage for complaints from Sony America about the same thing, or from other console manufacturers about other consoles to other regions, or even from any publisher about any specific software title to any country they don’t see fit. It’s the beginning of the end... of the World as we know it", stated Pascal Clarysse, formerly known as the Marketing Manager of Lik-Sang.com.

"Blame it on Sony. That's the latest dark spot in their shameful track record as gaming industry leader. The Empire finally 'won', few dominating retailers from the UK probably will rejoice the news, but everybody else in the gaming world lost something today."

 

[London Geezer]

It's pretty disgusting i agree. Huge corporations killing businesses who have, for all intents and purposes, hurt no one... All because they didn't like it that a tiny percentage of UK gamers didn't pay the normal UK premium when they got an imported PSP.

Very sad. Greed can be evil.

 

[22psi]

Wow, this is pretty sad news... I know some people who have purchased from Lik-Sang and have said good things about them. I hope they reopen soon!

 

[London Geezer]

I bought stuff from Lik-Sang. Cheap, fantastic service, very professional.

 

[StefanS]

That's pretty sad for a few of my friends who preordered PS3s through Lik-Sang. It's also sad for everyone else who did so as well. This close to launch they've zero chance of transfering their order to other import-shops and getting a launch console.

 

[hey69]

actually , years ago, they werent that legit , i think they where shut down and reopened with new management and only doing legit import , export stuff. (read backup tools and other stuff where on sale over there before, exporting went with very low tax delcaration on the package etc...BACK THEN , not since they reoponeded few years ago)

 

[pipo]

Cheap, fantastic service, very professional.

Yeah. This sucks.

 

[Bobbler]

That's incredibly lame.

Stupid Sony, stupid.

 

[one]

Furthermore, Sony have failed to disclose to the London High Court that not only the world wide gaming community in more than 100 countries relied on Lik-Sang for their gaming needs, but also Sony Europe's very own top directors repeatedly got their Sony PSP hard or software imports in nicely packed Lik-Sang parcels with free Lik-Sang Mugs or Lik-Sang Badge Holders, starting just two days after Japan's official release, as early as 14th of December 2004 (more than nine months earlier than the legal action). The list of PSP related Sony Europe orders reads like the who's who of the videogames industry, and includes Ray Maguire (Managing Director, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Ltd), Alan Duncan (UK Marketing Director, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Ltd), Chris Sorrell (Creative Director, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Ltd), Rob Parkin (Development Director, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Limited), just to name a few.

Isn't it problematic for privacy policy?


As for the closing down, I bet they just shut this "label" so to speak and will open another paper company in a few days to do the business in China again.

 

[London Geezer]

As for the closing down, I bet they just shut this "label" so to speak and will open another paper company in a few days to do the business in China again.

Of course. If not we'd be seeing Pascal Clarysse (formerly known as the Marketing Manager of Lik-Sang.com) at Oprah telling us his life story, how Sony made him homeless, how his family was torn apart by greedy corporations...

He's mighty fine, but at the same time this whole incident is just very silly. Sony didn't like it that they lost thousands of dollars on the relatively low number of imports Lik-Sang provided, so they spent millions in legal fees to shut LS down.

 

[Arwin]

It's a shame. I ordered my PSP from them. I think the trouble was though that they didn't listen when Sony ordered them to stop somewhere in March, when the other ones like Playasia.com did stop exporting. I agree there is some irony with the PSP, because that one was designed and advertised to be global. I should as a consumer have been able to buy one in Tokyo and play with it anywhere, which is partly why it came with all the required connectors and so on, and the games are all region free. So you can see why there shouldn't have been much of a problem, originally. But when Sony asked them to 'cease and desist', they just should have, and then quietly resume after the European launch.

However, I would have liked to know whether or not Sony won this because their pockets are deep (as Lik-sang claims) or because they have the law on their side (which I'm not ruling out).

 

[22psi]

I wonder if this will affect other companies such as Play Asia

 

[Acert93]

I bought my component<>VGA cable for my GCN from Lik Sang. Great service, fair pricing. They have a ton of great products across the board. This smacks right in the face of capitolism: Small business sees a consumer desire and meets it. If SONY had wanted to cash in on these sales they surely could have. Instead they wanted to black out an area to focus on other markets, and effectively are saying consumers can have access only when they desire. Kind of a problem in a global economy. When I did game reviews I imported my N64, and later removed the physical restriction device. I have a hard time believing the exposure Nintendo got online + the word of mouth (the reaction to Mario 64 alone had many people saving for an N64) harmed Nintendo in any way. I am sure the same would be true of the PSP and even the PS3 here shortly. IMO Lik Sang was helping Sony. The alternative... is to buy the competitor if you cannot wait.

 

[Arwin]

I wonder if this will affect other companies such as Play Asia

Well, if you read my previous post ...

 

[Bouncing Zabaglione Bros.]

It's so hypocritical the way these big multinational corporations use the "global market" to their own advantage when it comes to making stuff as cheaply as possible before shipping it all over the world, but spends a lot of time and money denying their customers the same access to the global market for the customer's advantage.

 

[vazel]

Oh man this sucks.

 

[darkblu]

A Sony spokesperson declined to comment directly on the lawsuit against Lik-Sang, but recently went on to tell Gamesindustry.biz that "ultimately, we're trying to protect consumers from being sold hardware that does not conform to strict EU or UK consumer safety standards, due to voltage supply differences et cetera; is not - in PS3's case - backwards compatible with either PS1 or PS2 software; will not play European Blu-Ray movies or DVDs; and will not be covered by warranty".

yeah, sure.

dunno what money sony spent on this, and what 'savings' they expect to get out of it, but they just pulled a darn good infamy stunt. seems to me the sony suits in control of the psp are the dumbest bitches this business knows.

*public announcement*

expect soon the hard-cover 1st edition of 'how we stuck the greatest handheld ever created up our collective corporate asses', by sony (pictures) press.

 

[Arwin]

I also remember now that one of the reasons for stopping PSP imports was that it could create problems when shops would sell import PSPs just before the official EU launch. Eventually though the mess is all Sony's fault, as they should just launch these things globally anyway.

 

[fearsomepirate]

So have corporations always had the right to dictate to everyone else what you are and aren't allowed to export/import? Or has import law always been the province of the government? Seriously, when did a corporation saying "If you buy one of our products, you're not allowed to ship it to another country" have the force of law?

 

[Carl B]

So have corporations always had the right to dictate to everyone else what you are and aren't allowed to export/import? Or has import law always been the province of the government? Seriously, when did a corporation saying "If you buy one of our products, you're not allowed to ship it to another country" have the force of law?

It doesn't and never did; that's where the judge in the courtroom comes in.

Obviously the UK has weighed in on the side of Sony on this one. Why, we don't know, but obviously to have done so there are trade laws that must be in Sony's favor on this one.

I'm sad to see Lik-Sang go... it's the sad reality though that the smaller businesses that orbit these titans both live and die by their hands.