I have had tons of people ask me if we sell/install Mod chips in PS2 or XBox. I always tell them that the store does not but I can tell them someone who can.
I have (outside of my company, ie on my own time) Installed/sold 2 Mod chips, one for an XBox, and one for PS2.
The XBox guy said he wanted the chip so he could upgrade the HDD to a much larger one and install linux on the XBox. I had him sign a legal doc saying that that was ALL he was going to use it for.
The PS2 guy said he wanted the chip because he just joined the military and was going to be stationed overseas and wanted to be able to play the overseas games. I also had him sign a document and bring in his military papers.
Were those 2 installations legal?
Also I was wondering if it would be legal to sell/install Mod chips from the store if we have them sign a legal document in which they swear to not use the Mod Chip for any illegally obtained software?
I don’t understand why it is illegal to modify something that you own … Although I can understand why Sony/MS may release games that don’t play one your modified machine in the future.
Actually it is a computer repair company that would be modifying a customer’s Console. The Mod chip is really nice in that it enables some disable features of the Console, however it has the ‘unfortunate’ side effect of allowing the customer to play copied/pirated games. The disclaimer is the customers agreement to not use any illegally obtained software.
I know a couple of mod shops in California that have been around sometime & have public web sites & havent been shut down. They say it should be okay as long as they don’t sell any backed up software.
My impression of the law is that the machine must have a copy protection scheme & the chip must defeat this protection. But in Australia (?) Sony went to court over this & didn’t win. They didn’t win because they couldn’t prove their machine has copy protection built in.
" A federal judge in Australia ruled Friday that mod chips sold for the original PlayStation do not infringe on Sony copyright protections under Australian laws, which are similar to the U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act. The decision comes a week after a Canadian man was sentenced to probation and fined $17,000 for selling mod chips and pirated games for Sony’s PlayStation 2. "
Cool. Then all I need to do is clear it through the Mall Manager, Ill tell him its a Console Hardware Upgrade that adds addition features (which is the truth)…
You shouldn’t need them to sign a waiver for a mod chip installation. If you ran a car stereo shop, you wouldn’t ask a customer to sign a waiver saying he wouldn’t use his new stereo to play illegally copied music, right?
Typically there’s legal verbiage in the manuals for the console about how the company won’t support modified units and any maintenence that opens the case must be performed by an authorized repair center or the waranty is voided.
Where this comes to be a problem was back on the PS1 when Sony came up with the idea of adding anti-modchip detection code to certain titles. If the game detected that it was running on a modified console, it’d stop on boot and display the message “Software terminated. Console may have been modified,” and give an 800 number to call for instructions on removing the mod chip.
More recently, console makers have begun to up the ante. As this article on news.com states, owners of modded X-boxes have found themselves locked out of the online X-Box Live service.
I would definately make customers sign a release stating that they’re aware of the risks that come with modding their console. List the risks out specifically: Future games may not run, future peripherals may no longer be compatable, associated services such as online play may be denied, and repair waranties will be voided.
Depending on the system, you might be able to make modchips that allow the user to play import games, but not pirate games. The guy at www.actsofgord.com has a couple stories about people asking him for modchips and people complaining that the modchip won’t play CD-R’s even after being specifically told it doesn’t work that way.
As for the DMCA, I suppose it might possibly apply, but then again, this law also supposedly makes felt-tipped markers illegal.
I always thought this odd, but I assume you can use a PC to backup software so I guess all our PC’s are illegal in that definition, eh? Plus, guess who makes the software to run it
I don’t know about having a mod shop in a mall. That might be a little bit too much exposure wouldn’t it?
Exposure to what? Customers? It’s not illegal. You can modify anything you own in any way you want, or have someone do it for you, as long as it doesn’t cook drugs or send spy signals to terrorists or turn your X-box into a lethal tazer or some silly thing. Is there a thing you have to sign when buying an X-Box that says, “This machine remains property of Microsoft, Inc and must be surrendered upon request,” or something? I think not. Plus, it’s not like he’s going to open up a shop called “MODCHIPS R US,” and put up a sign that says, “Wanna copy games? Come here!”
Anyway, I know a work around for the XBox live blocking of modded XBoxes. You simply install a switch to turn the mod chip on and off. Most mod chips have linkage for a switch built in.
I wouldn’t put it past Microsoft or any other console manufacuter to keep hammering at it, looking for new ways to prevent modded units from working properly. I stand by my opinion on making them sign a release, and how it should be worded.
Under the DMCA, if Microsoft uses a “technological measure” to protect a copyrighted work, it is illegal to attempt to circumvent the measure – even if the purpose of the circumvention is not to infringe the copyright.
[ibBioHazard[/ib, If you were worried enough to have disclamers handy, then I’m guessing you already knew. Unless you plan on standing up and doing the Joan of Arc Dance for everyone out there, you should knock it off with the mod chips. It just takes one jerk to sink your buisness.
Yes, it sucks. I can’t think of any EULA from Microsoft where modding the Xbox wouldn’t void everything in there.
The fact that an Xbox can run another OS is only something folks can drive by and point to;
Another train wreck, and not legal, fun as it was to watch…
Darth, actually I did not know, Im just trying to cover my arse in as many ways as possible.
Here’s another question. Would it be legal to offer a CD back up service if they sign a legal document stating that they own and purchased the software legally?
I am not offering this service at this time, right now it is in the “I Wonder If” stage.
BTW I found a “Black Market” in the mall that sells and trades pirated games and Dvds. (It is in one of the fire halls and consists of young teens from the nearby HS doing the selling…) Absolutly amazing, really…
I think there’s also a requirement in copyright law that you must destroy the archival copy if you no longer own the original copy.
I would definately have a lawyer who’s familiar with copyright and intelectual property law write the form that they would have to sign before you copy for them.
I once asked a lady about this issue & she said that the law was pretty complex. Basically she said that if you have a trademark you have to protect it & so they have/can to sue whether they have a right to or not. Few people have the dough to fight the suits whether they are right or not, so they just give in.
Technically, you’re probably in violation of at least the DMCA. In any case, a mod chip will invalidate your warranty–a threat I’ve never really understood, as most warranties are what, 90 days? As for my personal feelings about this, that’s for GD or somewhere.
The owner contacted a lawyer and said that just as long as we dont sell it as something that allows the box to play pirated games, we can only sell it as something that allows them to play foreign games. What they use it for is there own biz.
