[Gllug] EUCD: It begins, mod chips illegal

[Mike Brodbelt]

On Thu, 2004-07-22 at 13:05, Rev Simon Rumble wrote:
> http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/07/21/ps2_mod_chip_win/
> 
> This means PSII mod chips are illegal, so users are not entitled to
> make and use backup copies of games they have legitimately purchased,
> nor play games imported from other markets.

My reading of the article is that declaring the modchip illegal says
nothing as regards the legality of backups, or imports. It may of course
make them practical impossibilities... As far as backup copies go, the
argument used to justify them has always been "fair use". I think you'll
find that the US copyright system has the concept of "fair use" rights,
but the UK Copyright act does not, and as such I believe that backup
copies are technically illegal anyway, EUCD or not.

> How long before this ends up applying to X box modding to run Linux

The *only* difference I can see between Xbox modchips and PS2 modchips
is that you can run Linux on the Xbox, which doesn't involve use of 
copyrighted material in an unsanctioned way. A court may well rule that
modding your Xbox violates Microsoft's copyright anyway though, so I
wouldn't hold out much hope there.

> and region-free DVD players?

That's trickier. DVD region coding is nothing to do with copyright, it's
just market control, and a good lawyer might be able to swing that one.
The industry would get a lot of flak for trying to ban them as well.
Also, on the basis of the article, a trip to Spain, Ireland or Italy
ought to make it quite possible to get hold of them. Alternatively,
there are some chinese players around that don't need modchips, they
just don't do region coding by design, which might also present a
problem.

To say "it begins" is wrong though - it's been under way for years.
It'll only get worse unless we get politicians who actually represent
the electorate, instead of the companies that fund them. The US is far
worse than us, but we're going downhill fast.

Mike.

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