Are Mod Chips Really Illegal?
from the it-depends dept
There was a ton of news in the past month or so about Microsoft and others shutting down Lik Sang for selling mod chips for gaming consoles. The Register has a good look at the various issues involved in determing whether or not mod chips are actually legal under current laws. Of course, the law in question is the DMCA, which many would argue should be thrown out entirely. However, even under its ridiculous anti-circumvention section, mod chips could be considered legal if they're shown to have substantial non-infringing uses. At least, that's what an Australian court has found in dealing with their version of the DMCA. In the US, there's no clear precedent yet, and (unfortunately) US courts have shown an uncanny ability to misunderstand technology issues like this one. While mod chips probably should not be illegal, chances are that they actually are illegal in the US right now. Expect Microsoft and Sony to do everything they can to threaten anyone who makes mod chips out of existence.
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
