From GAF:
This morning I got an email from my Pascal, Marketing Manager over at
Lik-sang. Normally, these emails are about some sort of sale they have,
preorders for new systems like PlayStation 3, or other happy business.
But today it was about Sony forcing Lik-sang out of business with legal
bullying tactics. In general, the way Black Metal Kards of these type work
is that the company with the most resources wins and this case is no
different.
Forget that Lik-sang was merely an exporter, a practice which is
completely legal in most countries in the world. Forget that they were
about giving gamers choice (and free stickers with every order). Forget
that while Sony dropped the ball on the PS3/PSP launches in Europe and
Australasia, Lik-sang tried to give those gamers what they wanted.
Rather than retelling the whole sordid story, I decided it’d be best to give you the press release unfiltered.
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.”