Games consoles such as the Microsoft Xbox or Sony Playstation 2
include copyright protections that prevent them running pirated
games, or games subject to regional control (where a console bought
in one part of the world cannot run games purchased in
another).
Mod chips are designed to circumvent these protections. As such,
mod chips and "chipped" consoles are in breach of the US Digital
Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), which prohibits the manufacture
and distribution of products or services that circumvent
technological protection measures designed to prevent unauthorised
access to and copying of copyrighted materials.
According to a criminal complaint filed on Monday, Jason Jones,
34 and Jonathan Bryant, 44, both owners of Los Angeles-based ACME
Game Store, used modified Xbox game consoles as demonstrators in
their shop and would describe in detail to customers the advantages
of the modifications.
Customers would pay from $225 to more than $500 for the
modifications, depending on the extent of the modifications
requested and the number of games that were pre-loaded onto the
hard drive.
A third individual, Pei “Patrick” Cai, 32 from Pico Rivera,
California, would pick up game consoles to be modified, modify the
systems at his home, and then return the consoles to the shop,
where they were picked up by customers, says the complaint.
The trio were caught after undercover agents with US Immigration
and Customs Enforcement (ICE) paid $265 to have a modification
chip, a hard drive and 77 pirated games installed on an Xbox. ICE
had been tipped off by trade group the Entertainment Software
Alliance.
The three men have all been charged with conspiracy to commit
copyright infringement and to violate the DMCA, and face a maximum
of five years in prison.
They are due to appear in a Los Angeles District Court in late
January.
