Is console modding legal?

whatsamsn

I've honestly heard two different sides to this ....

- That it is legal to mod, however illegal to download or supply games (well, obvious to that one :P )
- Its legal to mod as long as its for homebrew purposes (etc)
- Although homebrew (etc) is legal its still seen as illegal to still mod.

Im confused
can anyone clear things up for me?

Oh_Noes

The police are definitely not going to show up at your door because you stuck a screwdriver in your xbox if that's any help...

whatsamsn

:P
well I know that. But I guess I am talking about offering a sevice to mod

.. does that fall on the legal side of things?

Myrddin

The way I interpret it is:

It's not illegal to modify or adapt any hardware in your console if you own it. It is technically illegal however, to modify or adapt software that's present on your console (ie the Operating systems on PS3's & 360's).

Three examples from legal, to grey area, to illegal would be - fitting added cooling fans inside your xbox, & adapting the case & innards to allow the fans to fit. Is this illegal? No, not at all. Another example involves installing custom firmware on your PS3 which has been reverse engineered & modifed. Is this illegal? Well this is grey area at the moment. It's illegal I guess if you agreed to the system software licence agreement. But what of people who bought units 2nd hand? They didn't agree. Finally, is using a modified console to play pirated games illegal? Well yes...if this is hardware or software modified, it's illegal to do this.

So it's not exactly clear cut really. The Joe Duffy type brigade won't be interested in determining the difference though, to some people opening a console means your breaking the law, to others like myself, the technology fascinates me & I love opening them up & having a peek around inside.

Myrddin

whatsamsn wrote: »

:P
well I know that. But I guess I am talking about offering a sevice to mod

.. does that fall on the legal side of things?

Well the guy in the states was recently cleared of breaking any laws. He was caught by MS offering mod services, & thankfully the court saw sense. He couldn't be convicted because of what another person might do with the mod, it's akin to a shop owner being convicted for selling knives that might be involved in a crime if someone buys them. It's ridiculous really, so no, it's not illegal to offer a service depending on the service. A service to mod a console that comes with 20 pirated games would be illegal, a service to mod a console with backup compatible firmware isn't illegal, a service to modify a console to be multiregional isn't illegal. As before, it's not as simple a 'modding' a console.

Irish_Elect_Eng

EnterNow wrote: »

Well the guy in the states was recently cleared of breaking any laws. He was caught by MS offering mod services, & thankfully the court saw sense. He couldn't be convicted because of what another person might do with the mod, it's akin to a shop owner being convicted for selling knives that might be involved in a crime if someone buys them. It's ridiculous really, so no, it's not illegal to offer a service depending on the service. A service to mod a console that comes with 20 pirated games would be illegal, a service to mod a console with backup compatible firmware isn't illegal, a service to modify a console to be multiregional isn't illegal. As before, it's not as simple a 'modding' a console.

That 's a good assessment of the grey situation that exists....It would also be illegal to advertise the modding service "benefits" ie. if your add was to state "Get your Wii Modded, nevwe pay for games again" or similar then you would be in danger of "conspiracy" to commit an offence or "inducing" others to comitt an offence.

However, just like building house that don't meet regulations is illegal but nobody will ever be arrested for it, I think that you would probably be safe from the long arm of the law.....

But, if you are going to do this as a business then I would advise is spending a few quid at a solicitor to confirm that your business is in fact legal.

Myrddin

Irish_Elect_Eng wrote: »

That 's a good assessment of the grey situation that exists....It would also be illegal to advertise the modding service "benefits" ie. if your add was to state "Get your Wii Modded, nevwe pay for games again" or similar then you would be in danger of "conspiracy" to commit an offence or "inducing" others to comitt an offence.

However, just like building house that don't meet regulations is illegal but nobody will ever be arrested for it, I think that you would probably be safe from the long arm of the law.....

But, if you are going to do this as a business then I would advise is spending a few quid at a solicitor to confirm that your business is in fact legal.

Exaclty, & to those who offer the service here it's why we only allow a templated type of ad, with no mention of what can/can't/might or might not be done. It's simply a modification, & what the end user chooses to do with it is up to the end user.

I'd also agree that a business would have different interests in this situation, & should likely seek clarification as they'd likely be open to things that 'bedroom enthusiasts' wouldn't be.

slave1

When I purchase a piece of kit like a Wii or Xbox or DS I simply go into a shop or order on-line, then it's mine, what I do with it is my business and prior to making my purchase I did not agree to any 'non-mod' contract clause/condition. To me modding is a challenge/hobby to get more from my piece of kit, I have no need to play DVD's on my Wii but I'll still give it a bash because I want to.

Retr0gamer

I'd just like to add that those terms and conditions you agree to and end user agreements are very flakey and won't stand up in court.

Myrddin

Retr0gamer wrote: »

I'd just like to add that those terms and conditions you agree to and end user agreements are very flakey and won't stand up in court.

Not to mention those that bought 2nd hand consoles, & wern't prompted with any agreements.