Importing consoles and how to shut lik-sang
- Thread starter hey69
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This is what infuriates me. What the hell was the point of doing this? How did the court actually come down in their favour?
As I understand it, it's to do with trademarks. Sony own the IP rights (internationally) to the trademarks PlayStation and PSP and the like. In advertising these products, Lik-Sang are using the trademarks. I don't think Sony are allowed to stop trade, but they stop Lik-Sang using the trademarks, which in essence stops them being able to talk about the product at all. I can't say for sure, but I read somewhere it was a matter of trademarks that Sony were using to enforce their product control. And whether you like it or not, the law is very clear on this matter. A company with a trademark can choose to disallow you to use it.
What about Ebay? They can't possibly be dishing out cash to every company in the world whose goods get advertised on their site. Do used car dealers have to pay every single car company to be able to advertise that they've got their cars on the lot? I somehow doubt all those used book sellers on abebooks.com are floating every single publisher in existence cash to be able to publicize the listings of books they have for sale.
Edit: "Investigatory purposes?!?!" Yeah, Euro SCE guys were buying PSPs from Lik-Sang to investigate...uh...whether or not they were actually PSPs? Whether the PSP actually existed?
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I find it rather strange that they actually put personal information on there. Isn't that against if not any law, any common sense? Well whatever, I won't be crying over Lik-sang since I rarely/if ever import games, I can wait, or just buy something else if they won't be released, not too big deal.
Just in case Sony hadn't fucked over Europe (and Australia/NZ) enough with their bullshit "worldwide launch" six months late, now they're trying to fuck over anyone resourceful enough to seek out their own damn solution.
There is NO justification for this. This is not about "protecting consumers". What an out-and-out lie. Bullshit like this makes me want to rethink my planned purchases this gen.
OK, I'm a little hot under the collar here - and it's probably hard for non-Euro customers to understand what it's like to get the games you'll play today a year or so later. Sigh.
There is NO justification for this. This is not about "protecting consumers". What an out-and-out lie. Bullshit like this makes me want to rethink my planned purchases this gen.
OK, I'm a little hot under the collar here - and it's probably hard for non-Euro customers to understand what it's like to get the games you'll play today a year or so later. Sigh.
importing from Ebay
does this also affect individuals who want to import the PS3 from the US via Ebay etc??
I'm from the UK and was considering buying a US PS3 once prices had settled down (if that will ever happen) I currently have a US PS2 and have always imported games etc in the past but now SONY comes out and does this.
SUCKS!!
does this also affect individuals who want to import the PS3 from the US via Ebay etc??
I'm from the UK and was considering buying a US PS3 once prices had settled down (if that will ever happen) I currently have a US PS2 and have always imported games etc in the past but now SONY comes out and does this.
SUCKS!!
It would have been even better from Lik-Sang to release data about Sony execs purchasing DS Lites from Lik-Sang. :smile:
Seriously, this whole thing sucks. I used Lik-Sang quite a few times in the past for stuff ranging from quirky JP DS games to my nice DOA4 XBox 360 Arcade stick, and I will miss them : excellent customer service, very helpful, and decent prices.
Those import shops provide a valuable service to the hardcore gamers community, by filling a gap left by the large companies themselves :
- price gouging (especially on games, and taxes don't explain the whole difference, see TD Unlimited at $40 and €70)
- late releases (Euro customers "don't mind" getting their PS3s in March, right ?)
- games never translated/released in EU/US (for reasons ranging from copyright issues to corporate cluelesness and laziness (I'm looking at you, NoE, here))
- horrible games translations/adaptations (how many PS2 games with horrible voice acting, atrocious translations, and the trademark "60Hz->50Hz straight conversion" ?)
There is especially bittersweet irony in Sony is touting the region-freeness of the PS3...
I hate to see Lik-Sang go, I ordered two times from them, not often, but I wouldnt knew where else to get stuff like PS2->PC Adapters a few years ago.
But it still strucks me, that you have Sony suing them to stop selling their Hardware (AFAIK thats all the lawsuit targeted - no word on stopping import games or calling for compensation) and all of the sudden they have to close.
Its not like its the first lawsuit they lost, Sony, MS and particulary Nintendo already forced them to discontinue sales of specific products, none of them killed Lik-Sang. But all of the sudden its all Sonys fault ? No way to stop selling PSPs and continue?
But it still strucks me, that you have Sony suing them to stop selling their Hardware (AFAIK thats all the lawsuit targeted - no word on stopping import games or calling for compensation) and all of the sudden they have to close.
Its not like its the first lawsuit they lost, Sony, MS and particulary Nintendo already forced them to discontinue sales of specific products, none of them killed Lik-Sang. But all of the sudden its all Sonys fault ? No way to stop selling PSPs and continue?
Well it seems that these guys are back with another tone! I like how they tried to downplay Sony and make them the only guilty one. Check this out:
Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft vs. Lik Sang
Tue Oct 15 2002 14:57:22 Hong Kong Time - Corporate Info
On September 16th a lawsuit against Lik Sang International Limited and it's directors was filed in the High Court of Hong Kong by the companies Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft alleging infringment of copyrighted material by the selling of Mod Chips or other development and backup devices for the Plaintiffs consoles.
On September 17th, the High Court of Hong Kong issued Orders and Injunctions against Lik Sang which prevented selling or advertising Mod Chips (and other similar products in question). The details outlined in those Injunctions basically took Lik-Sang.com, the company and more than 20 full-time employees "down" - business was officially closed till today. Lik Sang and it's employees couldn't even speak about the case due to an injunction of the High Court.
Lik Sang International Limited has removed all the products in question from it's website and started it's business operation again this Tuesday, October 15th. Un-shipped orders will be processed in due course and the first shipments are scheduled to be dispatched by November 1st. Customers with unshipped orders will receive emails with shipping & or cancellation information. In the meantime, new orders are welcome.
Please note that Lik Sang International Limited has always sold the products in questions with the legitimate uses in mind. The products haven't been considered by us as illegal. All the Court Orders were issued before hearing a single word from the company. However, Lik Sang is now not in a position to sell the questioned products in the immediate future.
Note: We are receiving hundreds of comments regarding this news article from readers around the world. Though those comments below do not necessarily have to reflect our opinion, we don't welcome violent posts against the plaintiffs, they will be deleted from us. Please don't forget that at the end of the day Sony, Nintendo, Microsoft (and Sega, sniff) are the ones who let us all share the same hobby we have: playing video games.
DuckThor Evil
Legend
"selling of Mod Chips or other development and backup devices for the Plaintiffs consoles."
That's a bit different wouldn't you say?
Your Sony defending is admirable and cute though....
Seriously, some companies can do no wrong in their eyes.
Anyways, it seems Sony might have handed Europe to MS on a silver platter.
Whoa, how many lawsuits are there now? I just got home and am heading to bed, and it seems there are a number of them now. Some for pre-orders in blacked out areas (via trademark/copyright backdoors) and now mod/"backup" tools (i.e. piracy, cheating, etc). Or am I missing all the details?
Looks like everyone wants a piece of Lik Sang. When the dust settles it would be nice to get some decent overviews of what has happened and by whom. Maybe a joint effort to toss anything that they could at them by all 3 to shut their doors?
Looks like everyone wants a piece of Lik Sang. When the dust settles it would be nice to get some decent overviews of what has happened and by whom. Maybe a joint effort to toss anything that they could at them by all 3 to shut their doors?
DuckThor Evil
Legend
the mod/backup lawsuit was over four years ago. Sankari just brought it up, so that it looks Sony wasn't the only one after them...
These are old lawsuits (see the date 2002?), Lik-Sang has been sued in the past (once by Nintendo for selling Flashlinkers / other copying devices and once by Sony for selling Modchips). I do think these old lawsuits were justified and Lik-Sang has in each case stopped selling the product in question.
From what I understand, this time if Sony had lost the case they would've simply filed in another (and another ...) EU country until Lik-Sang was worn out, so Lik-Sang decided not to represent themselves as would be no way to win all these suits before finances were worn out.
I would indeed like more details about these proceedings, as I still don't understand how a British judge can create a European precedent...
Not in this case. Higher ups from the company who wants to put them out of bizz.
It's war. Do the math.
How? Because of this relatively little incident? Hardly! The volumes involved are so low that it hardly affects market share. we're talking hunderds to low thousands units here, compared to hundreds OF thousands to million figures the territory's market handles.
The volumes involved is also what makes this whole thing so ridiculous, considering how much Sony must have spent in legal fees in a few different countries to stomp on LS...
The volumes involved is also what makes this whole thing so ridiculous, considering how much Sony must have spent in legal fees in a few different countries to stomp on LS...
Actually, considering that LS didn't contest the case, I doubt Sony had to pay much at all - they just had to file the papers and turn up. That's going to be bread and butter work for their legal team.
Well the point is still that Sony was hardly the only one after them. Oh I'm sure its cute. I have admitted long time ago already that I'm biased towards Sony but I don't count other consoles out from my view, unlike others.
War or not, its still ridicilous for them to do this. Well damage control never really works out nicely.