Sony Computer Entertainment Australia today won its appeal against Eddy Stevens and the “chipping” of PlayStation games consoles. The Full Australian Federal Court unanimously upheld Sony Computer Entertainment’s appeal against the decision of the original trial judge Sackville J, and their ruling confirms that it is illegal in Australia to “chip” PlayStation consoles and sell “mod chipping” devices.

All PlayStation games include copy protection to inhibit copying and to ensure that PlayStation consoles only play genuine games. The Full Federal Court of Australia found that Mr Eddy Stevens had infringed on this by selling mod chips which, once installed in a PlayStation console unlawfully bypassed the copy protection system.

The judgment of the Full Court has therefore given practical effect to the operation of section 116A of the Copyright Act and will assist all copyright owners in preventing piracy of their copyright works.

The Full Court also reaffirmed that there is no right to make a backup copy of a PlayStation game, something that was disputed in the initial hearing.