• Xbox Modders Charged

    Xbox Modders Charged

    Techtree News Staff, Dec 20, 2005 1729 hrs IST

    A complaint affidavit alleges that owners of a game store sold Xbox game systems that had been installed with modification chips.

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Two store owners and a third man were charged in a federal copyright infringement case, for selling modified Xbox game consoles that allowed the machines to play pirated video games copied onto a hard drive installed in the console.

A criminal complaint filed in a federal court in Los Angeles accuses the three of conspiring to traffic in a technology, used to circumvent a copyright protection system, and conspiring to commit criminal copyright infringement.

The complaint affidavit specifically alleges that the owners of a game store sold Xbox game systems that had been modified by a third man who installed modification chips and large hard drives into Xbox consoles. The modification chips and hard drives allow the user to copy rented or borrowed games onto the consoles for future playback.

All three are charged with a felony count of conspiracy to commit copyright infringement and to violate the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. The defendants will be summoned to appear in a United States District Court in Los Angeles in late January.

This case began when the Entertainment Software Alliance contacted federal law enforcement, and reported that undercover private investigators had purchased a modified Xbox game console, pre-loaded with several copyrighted games, from the game store in May 2005.

According to the criminal complaint, two of the charged, had modified Xbox game consoles running as demonstrators in the store and would describe in detail to customers the advantages of the modifications. Customers would pay from $225 to more than $500 for the modifications, depending on the extent of the modifications requested and the number of games that were pre-loaded onto the hard drive.

The third man would then pick up game consoles to be modified from the store, modify the systems at his home, and then return the game consoles to the store to picked up by customers.

The charge of conspiracy carries a maximum possible penalty of five years in federal prison.

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Xbox Modders Charged



Discussion Board
sid
,new delhi, on Jun 12, 2006 09:32 AM
Does anyone know how mucha mod chip for the xbox cost??
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the_dawghouse
,reggree, on Jan 04, 2006 08:55 PM
ye saale firangi apni desi site pe kya kar rahe hain
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badmojoe
,Colorado, on Dec 20, 2005 06:44 PM
I think that once you buy something, you can do what ever you want to it. ie... put in a large HDD or run the thing with out a case... its your own property. I guess the part where they went wrong was putting games on the HDD.
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HaloModX
,none, on Dec 20, 2005 08:03 PM
i entirely agree with this. we paid for the item, we can do what we want with that item.
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Anonymous
,Canada, on Dec 20, 2005 09:00 PM
there are SO many people Mod-ing there PS2's and X-Box's and soon to come Xbox 360's as well....When will that be available i wonder??
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Mike
,Albany, on Dec 21, 2005 02:08 PM
Can you people not read? The customers didn't mod them and aren't being charged with anything. The store did the mods and the store was selling stolen games. It wasn't like they gave the games away, they were copying them onto the systems to sell them and make lots of profit all for themselves and screw the people who made the game.
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Hawk
,LI, on Dec 23, 2005 02:41 AM
Totally agree.... Lets the 360 feel the same fate =)
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oj simpson007
,New York, on Dec 21, 2005 07:19 PM
dude it says in the freaking terms of use policy for your xbox that you cant "modify" your xbox in any way so if these guys are "modifiying" their xbox's and selling them it is illegal in the first place.
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hydroplane
,L'ville, on Dec 21, 2005 10:20 PM
DUDE, your a tool. You sign nothing when you purchase an xbox. The "terms of use policy" you refer to is a drawn out document meant not to be read and is for liability purposes. You write your own user agreement when you write the check for the product. You pay and you do whatever you want with it. Living in a collective toilet bowl like new york you probably have no concept of innovation.
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rob
,new york, on Dec 22, 2005 03:26 AM
Are you people retarded? They bought Xbox, modded them, put over 70 piratede games on it, and then sold the systems for at least double the price they bought them for originally. How is that not illegal?
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Big Tyebud
,Cali, on Dec 22, 2005 03:48 AM
Well first off, modifying your system is legal. Selling your modified unit is legal. But being the owner of a video game store and selling modified units is illegal because the video console/maker doesn't make a profit off it. In any case, they shouldn't come out with new technology that does this if they know they're going to loose money.
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Mick
,milwaukee, on Dec 21, 2005 07:24 PM
Ye theres nothing wrong with modding your Xbox, But when you steal games and install them thats wrong and they should get stung for it theres no question. modding the Xbox is fine but when they installed games onto it thats where they got it, Idiots for doing it in the frist place and alot of you lot seem to forget that its because of fools like that we are paying up the wall for games. it has nothing to do with new coding or better graphics it has to do with the loss MS and Epic and Activsion etc incounter because copying and selling games.
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Haggendaz
,Nagasaki, on Dec 21, 2005 01:37 PM
Man microsoft is no fun... Killjoys
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mrfun
,Hiroshima, on Dec 21, 2005 05:28 AM
Are the people making comments like "it's my hardware, I shouldn't be reading this!" retarded or don't they understand the legal problem with a store selling 76 preloaded copied games?
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Anonymous
,t, on Dec 21, 2005 05:26 AM
Read the story guys. These guys were selling modded consoles with -pre-loaded copyrighted games-. If they had just sold modded consoles, they probably would have been fine.
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Hydroplane
,Lawrenceville, on Dec 20, 2005 09:01 PM
What a bunch of BS. Xbox mods are not primarily for ripping games, it unlocks it pc abilities. If gates didn't want this he shouldn't have cut corners and used pc parts in the system. How is this even a criminal case, who's the victim? Solong liberty, we hardly knew ye
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Mike
,Maryland, on Dec 21, 2005 12:48 AM
Where these 3 knuckleheads went wrong was in selling these "modded" systems... If you buy an xbox, trick it out, and keep it at home you're not breaking the law. A store however, selling modded xbox's with games downloaded on them is breaking the law...because those games aren't being paid for in the legal sense. Quit complaining about your liberties ... democracy doesn't mean you can do anything you want. It means you have a voice to change the government... vote if you don't like something.
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JAke
,wisconsin, on Dec 21, 2005 12:17 AM
i shouldnt even be reading this thats how rediculous it is. when you buy something its yours
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NilB
,MM, on Dec 20, 2005 08:51 PM
Don't buy XBOX.That is the ultimate solution.
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sam
,london, on Dec 20, 2005 05:41 PM
leave them alone they are doing the community a service
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JazZ
,New delhi, on Dec 20, 2005 07:03 PM
ahahahahha.. right on dude.. man if they think this was bad. dun think they eva visited india.. dez guys would prob go mad..vid all da shit dat happens here.. hehe
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bill gayes
,dunno, on Dec 20, 2005 07:00 PM
qwer
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