After Four Years Feds Finally Get Around To Prosecuting Ten Mod Chip Sellers
from the to-jailbreak-or-not-to-jailbreak dept
Over four years ago, ICE ran an investigation into mod chip sellers in the US titled "Operation Tangled Web". During this investigation, ICE agents raided 32 locations in 16 states. Very little information was released at the time regarding who was targeted and if any charges were brought up. Since then, almost no information has been released about the operation. Thankfully, an eagle eyed John Doe found a press release from April 10 that details the names of ten individuals officially indicted on charges of violating the DMCA's anti-circumvention clause. The charges are as follows:The indictments generally charge that the defendants knowingly manufactured, imported, offered to the public, or otherwise trafficked in technology, products, services, devices, components or parts thereof, which were primarily designed to circumvent technological measures designed to effectively control access to a work copyrighted under Title 17 of the United States Code, for purposes of commercial advantage or private financial gain.Other than this information and the list of names, there is no other publicly available information on any of the ten cases. What really makes this announcement interesting is its proximity to the US Copyright Office considering proposals that would provide a jailbreaking exemption for game consoles. If that proposal is accepted by the Copyright Office, then the actions performed by these ten individuals would be legal for others to perform for the next three years. However, it is unclear how such an exception would effect the charges brought against these individuals. It is really sad to see ten people's lives being dragged through criminal courts for performing an action that should be perfectly legal.
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Filed Under: anti-circumvention, dmca, ice, mod chip, operation tangled web
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Great Comment !!! This says it all and in a few lines.
So right you are.
Modifying Guns !
Modifying Fishing/Hunting Gear !
Modifying your Audio Gear !
Fuck Off Sony & Other Console Makers ! This is another reason why it is best to probably use a PC to play your games.If you are a serious gamer you should post on your message boards and get a Petition and/or Boycott with Millions of Gamers joining.Money Talks and BS Walks.
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I've technically had the same "computer" for the last 8 years...Although the only thing that remains is the case. EVERYTHING else has been upgraded. Come to think of it, I'm due for another "upgrade" pretty soon.
The Automobile analogy is spot on...If you BUY your car, it's legal to modify it with aftermarket parts. If you LEASE your car, I don't think you can do that...There may be penalties when the lease is over. I've never leased a car, so not 100% sure on that one.
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its much like owning land in this country, your only allowed to do on/with your land what the govt says you can.
and if the govt wants your land they can and will take it and pay you as little as possible.
again according to the industry we own NOTHING anymore, we buy it but are not allowed to modify it in any way....
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What is really sad...
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That word...
Slapping a paper-clip onto your luggage and calling it a lock does not give you the right to sue somebody for bypassing your "lock".
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Re: That word...
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Does anyone know what the potential penalty would be if they were found guilty?
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I have three modded XBOXs (original, not 360.) I don't use them to play games, though I do own a number of XBOX games that I sometimes play with those XBOXs. I modded them for one purpose, XBMC, so they could be settop boxes since I didn't want to attach a computer to each TV in my house. While they are being replaced with BD-players (from LG, not Sony,) they still are used primarily for that purpose, and in at least one case, that purpose alone.
I bought all three used, from a well known vendor, well after Microsoft stopped selling and supporting them. If Microsoft isn't even supporting them any more, and no new games have been released in years, what do they care what I do with them?
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I absolutely agree with you on that. They care, but it is exactly the psychotic/sociopathic reason you said...we don't want you to be able to profit from something we aren't profiting from. Its my toy and I can take it home with me even though I gave it to you to do whatever I wanted you to do with it.
For Windows 3.1, I figure they believe that if someone has the source code to Windows 3.1, they can somehow make a better version of Windows 8 (which would actually be quite easy) and then people wouldn't go to Microsoft for it. Sad, since there is already a better version of Windows 8, called Linux and the folks that write Linux allow anyone to look at the source code.
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Because I can.
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What's really sad, Mike, is how you always defend the pirates--yet you pretend that you're neither pro-piracy nor a piracy apologist.
Why do you lie to your readers so? Why are you so fundamentally dishonest?
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What is really sad, Anonymous Coward, is that you always come here and defend the industries who abuse their artists and their customers alike, yet you pretend you are just some concerned citizen who isn't paid by the industry to spew FUD.
Why do you lie to your readers so? Why are you so fundamentally dishonest?
Why are you still here? You believe you know what it is that Mike says here, but it is obvious to the rest of us that you don't, and you're so fundamentally dishonest about it.
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I was trying to be subtle about it, but after reading it again, I may have been too subtle. It might help anonymous coward out to read the byline on the article before he puts words into Mike's mouth, since Mike didn't even write the article to begin with.
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/sarcasm
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What is really sad is that you continue to ignore bylines. Also, you seem to be unable to recognize that technology is neutral and the use of technology should not be banned simply because some people might use that technology for nefarious purposes.
Why do you lie to your readers so? Why are you so fundamentally dishonest?
Its only lying if it is not the truth. So far, you have provided no evidence that what you say is the truth.
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Shills aren't paid to read. They're paid to shill. Just like politicians, they're given talking points and they spout them without actually evaluating whether what they're saying makes any sense. After all, if they took a moment to rationalize what they're saying, they'd be out of a job.
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It's these plaintive attacks in the form of questions that make these comments so brilliant. The way they presuppose a flaw in the subject is wonderful if not exactly subtle.
Baby, why do you have to make me hit you?
When did you stop beating your wife?
You might have better luck on some sites not quite so geared toward techie, professional people with an interest in seeing through the propaganda of IP industry shills. There are lot of sites which cater to people lacking in reasoning skills.
You're not going to convince anyone here that they shouldn't have the right to modify equipment they own.
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Re: Re: All! the! answers!
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What is really sad is you are so fuscken stupid you don't even realize that Mike didn't write said article.
Not sure how its even possible but, you get dumber by the day.
N.
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Pay attention to who actually wrote the article before you start bashing!!!
wow...gotta love the AC's. Mike didn't even WRITE this. Do they even bother to actually read the article before posting? Nevermind, we all know the answer to that.
Unless I'm missing something in an alternate universe where Zachary and Mike are the same person...
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What's really sad, Albert, is how you always defend relativity--yet you pretend that your watch is constant and will get you to places on time.
What's really sad, John Adams, is how you always defend the soldiers of the Boston Massacre--yet you pretend that you're neither a Tory nor a tyranny apologist.
What's really sad, AC, is how you always defend ridiculous laws and the removal of rights from citizens--yet pretend you're neither pro-corporatocracy nor a corruption apologist.
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That's rich coming from a jackass putting word in Mike's mouth. Yeah, that totally works.
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We are the Oligarchy.
Resistance is vital.
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Re: We are the Oligarchy.
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Oh, and those air fresheners you hang from the rear view mirror, you may use them to make your car smell pretty WHILE YOU RUN A RED LIGHT! Must ban them too!
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Sorry for my reference. It is too new to have reached international sources:
http://fpn.dk/motor/bil/article2765840.ece
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So they should be illegal because you can drive under the influence after eating a small portion...
and I would never recommend anyone actually try this... they are poisonous, and my friend was in a desperate situation. And, yes, my friend is actually a friend, not my self.
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Just like piracy, im sure this is going to stop it.
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Probably not.
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mod chips are not simply for piracy.
you could buy a console for each country, BUT in some cases you would also need a tv from said country to use them(pal vs ntsc for example)
honestly its cheaper and easier to just mod the console and play the games.
in no way does this hurt the publisher or company who sold the console, it infact makes it more useful, yes by extension most mod chips allow playing of copied games, so what, its not like most people could do the mods I did, not many people I have met can solder, let alone well enough to do the mod with the best kinda mod chips....
With the xbox you could software mod it but, if you did the hardware mod it worked better in many cases, not sure why, dont really care.
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