Sony does not want Europeans to get their hands on the PSP before it is launched this September. In an effort to prevent just this, Sony is suing online gaming retailer Lik-Sang for selling Japanese PSPs to people in Europe.
Sony is taking the case to the High Court in Hong Kong. Sony is looking to have the sale of PSPs, games and accessories from Lik-Sang’s parent company, Pacific Game Technology, stopped.
Lik-Sang allegedly violated Sony copyrights back in June as it mirrored the PSP manual on its site. Lik-Sang says that the suit is just a “cynical attempt to disrupt the successful online business… gain total market control, and garner publicity”. Tony Smith at Channel Register reports:
The exporter is accused of violating SCEE’s trademarks, and of infringing SCEE’s copyrights by posting a copy of the PSP manual on its website. Sony warned Lik-Sang on 14 June it would begin legal proceedings if the manual was not removed, along with links to Sony’s own website. Lik-Sang maintains it immediately complied with that request.
Lik-Sang vowed to fight the case, claiming it has Hong Kong trade regulations on its side. They, it said, “allows free trade once an item entered the market for sale”. In other words, what we do with a PSP once we’ve bought it is up to us – and that includes selling it on to consumers in the UK and elsewhere.
This is not the first time that Lik-Sang has been sued by Sony. The last time was back in 2002 when Sony attempted to stop them from selling Playstation 2 mods.
Chris is a staff writer for Murdok. Visit Murdok for the latest ebusiness news.
