Noticed in today's Courier-Mail in the classifieds that there was the following IMPORTANT NOTICE:

The recently enacted Copyright Amendment Act (Digital Agenda) Act 2000 introduces new enforcement provisions, enabling courts to fine offenders.
Subsection 132(5A) of the Act provides, among other things, that:
(5B) A person must not:
(b) sell, let for hire, or by any way of trade offer or expose for sale or hire, or otherwise promote, advertise or market, a circumvention device;

To help enforce this new law, the Courier-Mail will no longer be accepting advertisements with anything to do with said devices (ie, mod chips, etc), which I assume will mean many of those little retailers that provided them will probably be drying up.

Will this make a difference? I think it will. Guys like you (ie, mostly tech-savvy people that have better 'contacts' in the gaming world will probably still be able to source chips and can, in many cases, probably fit them yourselves. But many providers will be unwilling to deal too openly, which means that the general public will probably have significant trouble sourcing it.

Personally, I can't believe that (to use the PSX as an example) Sony engineered something that was so technologically simple that an inexpensive chip that you could buy from anywhere to defeat copy protection was a blunder or a simple design flaw. I'm no console expert - anyone care to share?

mmm modchips...

i once had a site... and i had a click through to mod-chip... the fags still owe me $900...

DOWN WITH MOD CHIPS

Such a shame, territorial lockouts suck.

locked dvdroms are sooooo gay

paying $30-40 for a dvd in australia when you can get it from the US for less than half the price is just wrong

Yeah, I wonder why Nintendo bother with territorial lockouts on their consoles, they don't have them on the GameBoy range of handhelds. Must be to avoid confusion for the simple-minded consumer who doesn't now about the differences between PAL and NTSC. Mind you, they've got an excellent anti-piracy strategy for the GameCube, it has a Constant Angular Velocity drive, so even if you got a DVD burner capable of burning the mini-DVD's, you'd have the data on the disc at an unrecognisable data density. Plus they could always spin the disc backwards...

Im glad i hope playstations ect ect. :)

it wil aslo lower the amount of people buying a playstation... my brother bought his psone becasue u could get it chipped and burn games .. cheap... we would never actually BUY a game

Did a bit more research on the legislation that the Courier is mentioning there, and it gets better! ;)

Firstly, for individuals, this offence can carry fines of up to $60 000 or so, and for corporations, it is 5 times that, so around $300 000. Oh, and not to mention the possibility of up to 5 years imprisonment.

Also, the stated subsection is only one of many designed to stop mod chips:

(5B) A person must not:
(a) make a circumvention device; or
(b) sell, let for hire, or by way of trade offer or expose for sale or hire, or otherwise promote, advertise or market, a circumvention device; or
(c) distribute a circumvention device with the intention of trading, or engaging in any other activity that will affect prejudicially an owner of copyright; or
(d) by way of trade exhibit a circumvention device in public; or
(e) import a circumvention device into Australia with the intention of:
(i) selling, letting for hire, or by way of trade offering or exposing for sale or hire, or otherwise promoting, advertising or marketing, the device; or
(ii) distributing the device for trading, or for engaging in any other activity that will affect prejudicially an owner of copyright; or
(iii) exhibiting the device in public by way of trade; or
(f) make a circumvention device available online to an extent that will affect prejudicially an owner of copyright;
if the person knows, or is reckless as to whether, the device will be used to circumvent, or facilitate the circumvention of, a technological protection measure.

So, you can't make, sell, hire, advertise or basically do anything with a "circumvention device". Of course, this all relies on the proof that a mod-chip is actually a "circumvention device". Again, from the act:

circumvention device means a device (including a computer program) having only a limited commercially significant purpose or use, or no such purpose or use, other than the circumvention, or facilitating the circumvention, of an effective technological protection measure.

You can draw your own conclusions on that one, there may in fact be arguments either way, and it would be up to a judge to decide whether a mod chip is a circumvention device. Of particular relevance is the phrase "effective technological protection measure". This is again defined in the Act, but I couldn't be stuffed cutting and pasting ;). The way I read the definition, I would say that it applies, and hence a mod chip is a circumvention device.

So, it is now illegal to be involved with mod chips in any way basically, except I don't think you would be in trouble if you already own one ;) Region Unlocking devices may or may not be also included in this, it remains to be seen :(

if your really out for the good games on the ps2, they will most certainly be on dvd, and the only way the rippers out there can fit a dvd on a cd is take all the movies and sometimes music out. so really. imho i would rather purchase the games than download them anyhow.

by the sounds of it i'd say they are

but the fact that it makes no mention of actually aquiring one and using it is pretty cool

sif you would read all of Lyco's post

I had to cut it short for sad cases like you.... I wonder if QGL needs a law correspondent ;)

sif i need a lawyer, i just represented myself in court and won! bwahaha

Let me guess, Magistrates Court, contesting a speeding fine? Give you a tip, I haven't heard of that many people actually losing when they bother to contest a speeding fine :)

Can u get a mod chip for the PS2 to allow you to watch VCD's on em?
And also cos i didnt bother reading all of this thread, is this law in place now or what?

The amendments were assented to on 4 Sept 2000, and actually commenced on 4 Mar 2001. Therefore yes, it is now in place and you can be prosecuted under it.

/me gets a disguise

$60 000 for individuals and $300 000 for corporations is a lot of mod chips to sell to cover your losses :P

If you were a siamese twin and got cought selling mod chips would u be classified as an individual, or have i just found a loophole in the law? :P

Legal Personality is a whole other topic that I don't want to go into, but suffice it to say that a siamese twin would probably be an individual. The rule is that corporations can be fined up to 5 times as much as an individual.

I don't actually know of any cases of siamese twins being charged with a crime though... interesting.

well we can pretend to be siamese twins
we can stich our shirts together, acquire some assault rifles and rob a bank

if we get caught, we can get Splash Damage to represent us in court

but what if the other twin (not doing the modding) was against doing modchip's and theyhad tog ot to jail?
well back ot playoing blakc and white

One in, we're all in! :P

Wouldn't it be almost impossible for one of the twins to do something without the other's consent?

Just punch the other one out, chuck him in a wheelbarrow to push him about in and your set
But other than that, i reckon if you both had entirely different tastes in what u like and whatever... u would quickly become enemies, cos really who wants to compromise :P

get it chipped and burn games .. cheap... we would never actually BUY a game

This sort of attitude is probably a good reason to enforce a ban on modchips. I'm not necessarily against modchips themselves, but its the wankers that use them in this way that should be taken out and shot. There a lot of very good games out there, and even if I had the opportunity to "obtain" them via illicit means, I would still go and buy a copy BECAUSE THATS THE RESPECT THEY DESERVE.

I'm not saying every game released deserves to be purchased, hell, some deserve to be destroyed and never thought of again, but saying that you intend to never buy a game are content to just abuse the system by burning everything you want, thats just pathetic.

you go girl (:

heh.... but isn't pirating just commonplace now?? I mean, I buy REALLY good games (ie. B&W, etc.) but not much else. Why fork out almost $100 for a game like most of the crap there is?? (I remember a post a few days ago about the mew "Survivor" game... 'nuff said.)

heh, that was a first post too, if anyone cares.

yay!!! :)

testing to see if my account works

I didn't say buy every game on the market, if you scroll up and read my post I'm sure you'll see this line:

I'm not saying every game released deserves to be purchased, hell, some deserve to be destroyed and never thought of again

which I am sure would apply quite nicely to the announced Survivor game :)

well...i got a mod chip for the Dreamcast a while back...now i can PLAY games seeing that Sega ozisoft has decided to pretty much not bother with dreamcast titles anymore....so screw you ozisoft im off to do some importing eheheheh

You know you can download a boot disk that lets you play overseas games?

Theres interesting thought actually, I wonder if boot disks of that sort (basically cds that contain just the bootstrap loader attached to the front of the games, but without the region lock) would be covered under this new law?

ok I see you're not allowed to make, sell, hire, advertise, or trade a cirumvention device (trying not to get mixed up with circumcision)

what if you have already purchased one? and you are using it at home, but not doing those actions listed above?

If a cop hated you and saw you using a cirumVENTION device in your house, can he bust you for possession?

I'm not saying I have one (honestly, I don't), but I was just wondering...

Khel: See the definitions below:

circumvention device means a device (including a computer program) having only a limited commercially significant purpose or use, or no such purpose or use, other than the circumvention, or facilitating the circumvention, of an effective technological
protection measure.

technological protection measure means a device or product, or a component incorporated into a process, that is designed, in the ordinary course of its operation, to prevent or inhibit the infringement of copyright in a work or other subject-matter by either or both of the following means:
(a) by ensuring that access to the work or other subject matter is available solely by use of an access code or process (including decryption, unscrambling or other transformation of the work or other subject-matter) with the authority of the owner or licensee of the copyright;
(b) through a copy control mechanism.

The way I read it, yes, but so long as they aren't being offered online by Australians, then there is jack all that can be done about it.

Finno: There doesn't appear to be any possession laws as such, though if you got busted with a modded PS and 100 burnt games, I think the mod chip would be the least of your worries ;)

who cares playstation is crap

This is a link to a site which has a good (long) summary of the Act, go to circumvention device re this topic - http://www.anu.edu.au/legal/copyright/acipatalk.html (sorry I'm not all high-tech on adding proper links).

Basically though... the actual use of a mod (or "circumvention device") is not illegal under the Act, thus an individual user cannot be prosecuted. It is only if an individual is supplying the mod - pretty much, if its linked to some kind of commercial activity (that covers s132(5B)(b)-(e)). So ordinary users won't be liable for the $60 000 unless they are also selling/hiring/etc etc.

Also... according to this article, circumvention devices are likely to cover software cracks. So with subsection (f) making a person liable for breach of copyright if they make a circumvention device available online (if it prejudicially affects the copyright owner), this could be something to be worried about.


I don't know whether "make available online" would include having a link on your website to a crack site, but I doubt it extends that far..

On the brighter side, none of the definitions have yet been tested in court... :)

stoopid legislators!!

SOPH!!!

effective technological
protection measure.

Now, if I can get around it, it's not effective !

DANIEL!!!!!

(i have written *ahem* serious content, i can spam once surely)

writing one legitimate comment entitles a person to about 1000 spams (or something like that). :)

back on topic people are gonna continue to mod consoles (where possible) and dvd regions etc, it'll just be more underground.

I remember back for the original Nintendo ES there was a wildcard thing that saved games to floppy disks (just an example of a solid locked media being ripped).

Yea thats very true

and its not illegal to use them! (well as far as copyright is concerned..)

PSX Plus has stopped selling modchips to comply with the law - but they still sell Game enhancers which still allow you to bypass region locks. They also function as cheat machines and memory cards so they arent covered by the law ;).

I love ur doggy style........

how much r Dreamcast going for these days?
and do i need a mod or just a bootdisk?

any good games on the dream cast?

and I have lost of stupid games on the PSX which I didn't pay for.

Rather gay, though I like the Dance Revolution series.
I lost my site for console and computer cheats..
anybody got one?

p.s legislation sucks hard cock

Just a quick point. Overseas in some asian countries (eg thailand) I have NEVER seen a legitimate game for sale over there, theyre all high quality copies (they have proper covers and realistic cd labels).

So what sony have had to do is compensate for the profit loss in software, they have raised the price of the playstation. Over there a PS1 game is around $2 Oz. The actual playstation last time i checked was around $350-400.

There has to be a trade off, have cheap games to play on expensive consoles, or expensive games played on cheap consoles