UK: Mr. Modchips Gets Convicted Options

[Gash]

I've never even been to this guy's website so I have no biases towards or against him. I just can't believe how ridiculous the accusations are. "3,700 illegal chips?" Yeah I know you can potentially play illegally downloaded games but I'm under the impression that the mod chips are sold with the intention of playing legal backups of games that you own. How is this dude breaking any laws if that is true? It seems like they're completely overlooking that you can make a backup of a game and play it, just like you can rip CD's to your computer or even put them on an MP3 player. So why isn't the UK going after Winamp or other programs that you can pay for that allow you to steal music from the industry by ripping a CD that you already fucking paid for? I thought the DMCA in America was as bad as it gets but I guess the ELSPA in the UK is even worse.

[jamsplodge]

This scum bag did me out of £70. I'm glad he's been convicted. Yeah, I agree that selling modchips shouldn't be illegal but taking money for them and never sending them out sure is. Prick.

[soopahfly]

Never had an issue with him tbh, always good service, fast delivery.
Shame really. Once again, the police have nothing better to do now that there are no murders, rape's kidnapping and motorists left in the world. Oh wait...

[Gash]

regardless of your personal feelings about him, no one deserves this. he wasn't selling pirated software, just chips. even if he did have horrible service, he still doesn't deserve jail, maybe just a letter from the Better Business Bureau.

Yeah that's all true and I agree with it, but I don't know if the UK has the Better Business Bureau like we do. And over there, you're guilty until proven innocent, and his defense was horrible. The article said he claimed all of the "contraband" belonged to family and friends. It's going to get to the point where mod chip developers are going to have to put out "kits" or whatever for customers to MAKE the chips instead of selling them outright since just possessing an assembled mod chip by itself is a serious felony over in the UK.

[Bubbalynch]

This isn't a suprise in the slightist.

The holiday season prolly has something to do with the increase of raids. Bottom line, money is envolved, and money is being lost. Don't expect it to get any easier, might as well face it.

Im very suprised the whole "Ban of modchip devices" hasn't been pursued more aggressively in recent years. I refuse to use chips for modification purposes anyways so it really doesn't affect me as I prefer software mods.

The closest thing I've used to a "chip" is buying my VIA card, but that isnt a modchip and I'm not soldering it to my console.

Sucks for the dude, tho. Goodluck to him.

This post has been edited by Bubbalynch: Oct 25 2007, 07:15 PM

[Ken_D]

regardless of your personal feelings about him, no one deserves this. he wasn't selling pirated software, just chips. even if he did have horrible service, he still doesn't deserve jail, maybe just a letter from the Better Business Bureau.

I have to respectfully disagree - the guy was a total tit. You really think a letter from the Better Business Bereau (or the UK equivalent), sent to his 'registered address' in Thailand (!), would be treated any different from the 00's of other complaints he's had?

Whereas he shouldn't have been 'done' for selling modchips, this makes me have faith in karma. I sincerely hope he's stripped of all assets, banned from trading and sent down for a couple of years.

[alexh]

Found guilty of 26 offences [snip] 12 counts of possessing chipped games consoles [snip] 11 counts of possessing modchips

By my maths, 12+11 = 23, what you want to bet the other 3 offenses he was convicted on were being in the posession of pirate video games?

If not the UK got a whole lot more unfriendly.

This post has been edited by alexh: Oct 25 2007, 07:23 PM

[noxious1]

the jury consists of a bunch of pricks. who would vote against this?

[funy]

sad to hear someone going down for chippin. was m modchips aka baldbouncer from back in the ps2 neo 2 days? or have I got my wires crossed?

[Landlocked]

Special interest groups representing the copyright holders are out to save their clients money. Why catch a violent thug when busting this guy can save millions/billions for a company?

That being said, it IS illegal, and if you play with fire...

[BoNg420]

come on.. we all know this is the biggest problem our world faces.

George Bush?

[jeff10]

I just dont understand, Why not go after the chip manufacturers?

and or the main distributers?

[sentinel0]

George Bush?

I agree with this guy...

[cerealkillajme]

Hate to see any modders go down, but if one had to I'm glad it was him. I never personally dealt with him, but he was an asshole. For the most part as long as the item was in stock and you got it, you were good, but if the item was not in stock and you sent an email to inquire about it he would close your account and ban you from his site so you couldn't even contact him or anything. He did that to several of his customers. If someone got a chip and installed it and it didn't work and asked him, same thing, he would close your account and ban you from his site. And as a few posts up stated, his mailing address he used was from Thailand, so you couldn't even find him. I hope he gets screwed just as bad as all his customers he duped over, just because he deserves it. If you read his review thread you'll find plenty of posts from the customers he screwed over.

It is sad though to see us modders being treated like criminals now. TS said it best that "our rights are being taken out back an executed one by one" (not his exact words, but close). Sad how our government has become so ignorant to what they are doing.

I actually quit modding for hire after seeing him and the other guy from Europe getting knocked in the same week. Then 2 weeks later or less the huge US raids happened. I miss modding for people and getting to learn more by doing more mods, but it's just not worth it anymore.

[Zanzang]

Walmart sold me my modchip, and it was manufactured by ST in Singapore.
It did not come with any illegal code on it, but then I flashed it with an x2 bios.

Should we hold Walmart responsible for selling a device with a chip that can be flashed to allow a game system to play pirated games?
What about all of the other retailers selling these products? Gamestop, Target, Best Buy, etc. have all sold these devices for the better part of the last decade.

This post has been edited by Zanzang: Oct 25 2007, 08:04 PM