Sony gets chip knocked off shoulder
Sony gets chip knocked off shoulder
Oct 7, 2005: Eddy Steven's court win over Sony this week was not just a coup for Australian console modders, but also for libraries and research.
The Australian Library and Information Association has applauded the judgement, saying the landmark decision safeguards our intellectual freedom and the public domain from limitations imposed by commercial organizations.
In what some have categorised as a david and goliath battle, Stevens' victory after a four-year fisticuffs with Sony has broad ramifications. Originally, Sony sued Mr Stevens because he had been selling PlayStations that he had modified. "Mod chips" override regional coding blocks and allow consumers to play imported or copied games. The case raised many questions, not only about piracy, but also Sony's right to region coding and the restriction of information services that includes.
And it was this restriction of information services that eventually felled Sony's case. Mod chpping aside, the important aspect of the ruling is in its preservation of the 'fair dealing' parts of Australian copywright law. These aspects are extremely important to our information society as they facilitate public access to information, and enable research and study to happen without interferance by copywright owners.
Dr Mathew Rimmer from the ANU's Law faculty praised the decision: "The High Court has handed down a principled decision on Australia's Digital Agenda Copywright Act, which upholds fundamental freedoms, access to information, and fair competition."
However, he also said the decision would "cause a real difficulty for the Federal Government, which had to undertake to change its legislation in this area as part of the US Free Trade Agreement".
In the end, it's a big win for consumers and the free flow of information with ramifications potentially starting with DVD region coding and other arbitrary technical restraints.
"This decision will enable libraries and archives to provide information services to readers without undue technical restraints." said Jenefer Nicholson, executive director of The Australian Library and Information Association. "It also reinforces the importance of the fair dealing provisions in striking balance between the rights of copyright owners and users."
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