DMS 3 legality

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Originally posted by knowledgeiv
precisionmods, that's the way I see it too, but the real question is... how Sony or M$ sees it.

I've just been doing some reading on the DCMA and it's a really f@#$ed up law...makes me feel like I'm in a communist country or something. Except instead of every aspect of life being run by the government, it's being run by big corporations like Sony and M$.

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See that's the thing. M$ and $ony are NOT the law. Nor should they tell or dictate to us what they think is right. The law is what's on the books. And the DMCA is somewhat open to interpretation. If they want to make mods illegal, then they need to pass a law making it so. Until then, it's not illegal.

But, I am not sure where the DOJ's case against ISONEWS will lead all of us.

Hm . . . This is a good question.
Even if everyone was using the modchip for legal reasons like media player, or protecting end users valuable game collections, Sony/Mirosoft/Game Developers will still go after the modchip. Because of the sole fact that it opens the door to piracy. And the DMCA, because it is so vague, will give them a legal weapon to remove it from the market. However, small reseller should not have anything to worry about. The most that would happen is a court injunction would be issued to prohibit the reseller from selling that product and a fine if damages are determined. The ppl they really want to shut down badly are the manufacturers. Too bad they are in countries with weak copyright laws. Otherwise we could witness some really spectacular legal fireworks. :)

As for the legality of the modchip, there are legitimate reasons for this device (I have mentioned a few above). Its questionable legality lies on its protential for misuse. The argument could be that Sony intentionally placed security measures into their consoles to prevent ppl from misusing their product or using their product for purposes other than what sony had intended. This device remove those security thus changing the original purpose of the product. And now if they can prove that the modify product is harmful financially(not too hard) or physically, then I can see how they would have a solid case.

I haven't seen a case involving modchip in the states so everything I just said is speculation. Maybe some brave(insane) modchip manufacturer would be willing to open operations in the US?;)

Someone over at another forum brought up a good point...

Under the DMCA, it would be illegal to backup a CD collection you own, yet the Xbox comes with this feature built into it from M$.

...so where is the line drawn...where big business says to. grrr

The more I think about this, the more pissed I get. I've contemplated taking a sledge hammer to my Xbox and nuking all of my games (which are orignal, retail, btw, M$), video taping the whole thing and sending it in to M$.

Now that would be pretty funny actually:) Be sure to post the video if you ever decide to do it.

Yea, it would be especially funny for all the PS2 guys here. lol

I'm a pretty calm person, so it would probably never actually happen, but when I get mad....I get REALLY mad. I think I get it from my Dad. Once when I was young, my Dad had a shop vac that kept acting up, so he took it out into the back yard along with his shotgun and blew the hell out of it.

The Enigmah modchip in the iSONEWS.com case is similar to the PS2 modchips and does not contain copyright code or a "hacked" BIOS. It also uses patching routines. The only reason the DOJ has a case is because he was openly promoting it to play pirated software, not homebrew titles (which btw most are illegal anyway as they are made with pirated XDK's).

Either way, in the US you are pretty much screwed by the DMCA although as a small reseller you shouldn't need to worry.

I don't think anyone should worry about iSONEWS though. They were being monitored for quite some time, it was bound to happen.

speaking of hombrew titles, where can you find these??

Any Aussies here to refresh my memory on this issue!

Hmmm...

Yu-Gi-Oh!

Any Aussies here to refresh my memory on this issue!
(Laws in Australia!)

Hmmm...

Yu-Gi-Oh!

well i posted most of this in the thread in the general ps2 section, but here goes again.

ill probably be repeating other people, but it'll just be easier all together.

now the DMS3 might be bordering on illegal, because of DVD region free and macrovision removal, but i dont know if defeating that is illegal, so lets assume they arent illegal (eventhough that might not be the case)

the DMS3 as a ps2 modchip isnt illegal. the flash is to flash the DMS3's BIOS. but that's what makes the mod, what & where it patches to make backups/imports work. It isnt illegal.

The flash on the xbox modchips however, is a hacked version of the xbox's BIOS, not the chip's function. So that is illegal.

Modding your system isnt illegal, because its your property and you are free to do what you want with it.

The illegal part comes into when you defeat copyright protection (intellecutal property) for your personal use. It is illegal to backup a game, of which you dont own the original.

It's been said that under the DMCA, its illegal to backup an original you own, well it actually isnt. One of my brother's best friends is a lawyer, who conviently specializes in the matter of copyright infringment etc..., and i have talked to him on the matter. As long as you can prove that you haven't altered the contents of the backup from the original, then it is completely legal.

Playing imports is legal, since it doesnt defeat or infringe upon any copyright protection - you are only just telling the console to play something that isnt in your region. That isnt illegal by any means.

So that means, that the whole of a modchip cant be illegal. Since the DOJ or FBI or anyone cant prove that who you are selling your modchip to is making illegal backups, they cant do anything. Even if they are, you are selling them a legit product. What they do with the product - illegal or not - is on their own account, not yours, since you sold them it for legit uses.

Homebrew apps dont really fall into a category, since they dont have any association with SCEI, so its legit by cause of innocent until proven guilty (that may not be a law in other countries, but homebrew apps are still legit for other reasons in different countries).

SO.... taking out the Region Free and Macro, the chip is perfectly legal.

I'll research some more on the macro & region free, and post results.

Now thats an essay for ya :).