Hong Kong, October 24th of 2006 - Lik-Sang.com, the popular gaming retailer from Hong Kong, has today announced that it is forced to close down due to multiple legal actions brought against it by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Limited and Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Sony claimed that Lik-Sang infringed its trade marks, copyright and registered design rights by selling Sony PSP consoles from Asia to European customers, and have recently obtained a judgment in the High Court of London (England) rendering Lik-Sang's sales of PSP consoles unlawful.
As of today, Lik-Sang.com will not be in the position to accept any new orders and will cancel and refund all existing orders that have already been placed. Furthermore, Lik-Sang is working closely with banks and PayPal to refund any store credits held by the company, and the customer support department is taking care of any open transactions such as pending RMAs or repairs and shipping related matters. The staff of Lik-Sang will make sure that nobody will get hurt in the crossfire of this ordeal.
A Sony spokesperson declined to comment directly on the lawsuit against Lik-Sang, but recently went on to tell Gamesindustry.biz that "ultimately, we're trying to protect consumers from being sold hardware that does not conform to strict EU or UK consumer safety standards, due to voltage supply differences et cetera; is not - in PS3's case - backwards compatible with either PS1 or PS2 software; will not play European Blu-Ray movies or DVDs; and will not be covered by warranty".
Lik Sang strongly disagrees with Sony's opinion that their customers need this kind of protection and pointed out that PSP consoles shipped from Lik-Sang contained genuine Sony 100V-240V AC Adapters that carry CE and other safety marks and are compatible world wide. All PSP consoles were in conformity with all EU and UK consumer safety regulations.
Furthermore, Sony have failed to disclose to the London High Court that not only the world wide gaming community in more than 100 countries relied on Lik-Sang for their gaming needs, but also Sony Europe's very own top directors repeatedly got their Sony PSP hard or software imports in nicely packed Lik-Sang parcels with free Lik-Sang Mugs or Lik-Sang Badge Holders, starting just two days after Japan's official release, as early as 14th of December 2004 (more than nine months earlier than the legal action). The list of PSP related Sony Europe orders reads like the who's who of the videogames industry, and includes Ray Maguire (Managing Director, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Ltd), Alan Duncan (UK Marketing Director, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Ltd), Chris Sorrell (Creative Director, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Ltd), Rob Parkin (Development Director, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Limited), just to name a few.
"Today is Sony Europe victory about PSP, tomorrow is Sony Europe's ongoing pressure about PlayStation 3. With this precedent set, next week could already be the stage for complaints from Sony America about the same thing, or from other console manufacturers about other consoles to other regions, or even from any publisher about any specific software title to any country they don't see fit. It's the beginning of the end... of the World as we know it", stated Pascal Clarysse, formerly known as the Marketing Manager of Lik-Sang.com.
"Blame it on Sony. That's the latest dark spot in their shameful track record as gaming industry leader. The Empire finally 'won', few dominating retailers from the UK probably will rejoice the news, but everybody else in the gaming world lost something today."
Quote
Originally posted by: ShyGuy
Wow, how is Sony able to keep topping itself? I fully expect them to start kicking puppies before the PS3 launches.
Quote
Originally posted by: Smoke39
So is Lik-Sang completely gone, or are they just not allowed to sell PSPs?
Quote
The list of PSP related Sony Europe orders reads like the who's who of the videogames industry, and includes Ray Maguire (Managing Director, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Ltd), Alan Duncan (UK Marketing Director, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Ltd), Chris Sorrell (Creative Director, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Ltd), Rob Parkin (Development Director, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Limited), just to name a few.
Quote
Originally posted by: decoyman
Yeah, I'd like to know how the court was able to rule in Sony's favor. What's illegal about re-selling systems you legally bought yourself? Is there something I don't know?
Quote
In a statement issued to GamesIndustry.biz, Sony has denied any responsibility for the closure of Lik-Sang - accusing the online retailer of "sour grapes".
The statement begins by observing that Sony Computer Entertainment has successfully sued Pacific Game Technology, which uses Lik-Sang as one of its trading names, for infringing intellectual property rights.
"Lik-Sang did not contest this case (i.e. they did not turn up and therefore incurred no legal costs). We have been awarded substantial costs against Lik-Sang which have not been paid," the statement claims.
"We would therefore strongly deny that our actions have had anything to do with this website closing (we assume the legal entity is still trading), and would suggest that this release is sour grapes on behalf of Lik-Sang which is aimed to belittle Sony Computer Entertainment and the British judicial system that found against them."
Quote
Originally posted by: Rhoq
Fu*k Sony.
Quote
Originally posted by: Avinash_Tyagi
Back in the day, Nintendo was a bit of a bully to other companies when they had the dominant position in the industry, now Sony is doing the same thing, hopefully the PS3 is their Virtual Boy
QuoteChrono Trigger: Resurrection?
This is a classic case of having right vs. what's right. Sony has all the right in the world to stop Lik-Sang from selling consoles to regions of the world before they're released there, but from a consumer perspective it's just not right.
QuoteEver-shrinking?
The giant who can't swim is sitting on an ever-increasingly-small iceberg
Quote
"I believe they can claim that the imported units are, in effect, different units that function in the same way, thus violating the copyright. Saying that Sony is still getting the money doesn't necessarily work because Sony Europe is not still getting the money."
Quote
Sony has already said they think Europeans are used to waiting and won't mind. I think as a protest it would almost be a goosd idea to buy both the Wii and the 360 ASAP
Quote
At the time of the October 10 case, the presiding judge, Judge Fysh, said: "The acts of which complaint is made have in my view been perpetrated not in Hong Kong but here in the EEA [European Economic Area], and without Sony's consent. Moreover, it would make no sense if intellectual property rights in the UK could be avoided merely by setting up a website outside the EEA crafted to sell within it. Were the acts of which complaint is made to have been committed physically within the EEA they would unarguably have been infringing acts. I cannot see how the electronic intermediary of a website which focused at least in part on the EEA would make it any less so."
Quote
arguing that Lik-Sang advertises the Sony products "in a
dishonest manner" and "unlawfully interferes with Sony's economical
interests".
Quote
Suing for mirrored material is ridiculous, but reasonable under copyright law.
Quote
Unlike those on the black market, grey market goods are not illegal. Instead, they are being sold outside of normal distribution channels by companies which may have no relationship with the producer of the goods. Frequently this form of parallel import occurs when the price of an item is significantly higher in one country than another; this situation commonly occurs with cigarettes and electronic equipment such as cameras.
So... Lik-Sang was buying stuff (PSPs) legally sold by the IP holder (Sony) in another country (Japan) and reselling them overseas.Probably not unless Lik-Sang is based in the USA or this was tried in the US Court System. (I think their out of Asia)
Thus, if we were talking about sales into the US, this ruling would cover the exact situation, correct?