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Lik-Sang goes out of business, tells their side of story [Update 1]
It was just a few days ago that popular import gaming site, Lik-Sang, was rocked by a judge's ruling that it could no longer sell Sony's systems out of region. Now, Lik-Sang is giving their side of the story.Lik-Sang said, "Hong Kong's laws are clear when it comes to parallel trade, and the company has no ties whatsoever with the UK." However, ruling Judge Michael Fysh saw things differently by saying "The acts of which the complaint is made have, in my view, been perpetrated not in Hong Kong but here in the EEA, and without Sony's consent."[Update: Lik-Sang has officially closed its doors. Here's an excerpt from the press release:"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."Lik-Sang notes that many individuals of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe received their PSPs via a Lik-Sang import:"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."][Update: Sony denies responsibility for the closure, according to GI.biz: "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 purchasing of PSP consoles by SCE employees would be for investigatory purposes. We would also like to express our surprise at a company releasing personal information about its consumers." +1 Sony, -1 Gamers]
Sony wins grey importing case against Lik-Sang
Sony has just laid the proverbial smackdown on the popular import retailer Lik-Sang by winning a court case that ruled the website was in breach of Sony's intellectual property rights by grey importing its products. Grey importing is importing a product into a country without the manufacturer's consent.Lik-Sang, which sells Japanese PSPs to consumers through its website, argued it did not break the law since they're located in Hong Kong and "has no trading presence in the Uk or European Economic Area," according to Gamesindustry.biz."The law is clear; grey importing PS2, PSP or PS3 into the EU, without the express permission of SCE is illegal. Therefore, we will utilise the full scope of the law to put a stop to any retailers who chose to do this," a Sony spokeperson told GI.biz. "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."Wow, check out Sony going to bat for our safety! To be perfectly honest, I'm torn between whether this is a good thing or a bad thing for us consumers. On one hand, it's great to be able to buy those cool Japanese PSPs and other hardware that aren't available in the States, but on the other, it does protect consumers from retailers jacking up the price of imported hardware.[Via DCEmu]
