Legal Niches

French Court Rules in Favor of Mod Chip Maker

By pete_gallagher

In a ruling very similar to one handed down in Spain just last month, a French court has decreed that makers of Nintendo DS flash carts are not breaking the law.

French company Divineo was one of the defendants brought to court by Nintendo for making flash carts for the DS, which allow non-authorized games and media to be played on Nintendo's handheld game system. The court ruled that the carts are legal and extend the usefulness of the DS, states MaxConsole.net.

The court also apparently took umbrage with Nintendo for 'illegally' protecting its system and locking out users and developers, though it should be noted that the MaxConsole site, according to various sources, is owned by Max Louran, the same individual that heads Divineo.

This is not Louran's first brush with console modification enforcers either: a 2007 GP story indicated some relation between Louran's Divineo company and a firm (Supreme Factory Limited) at the center of a mod chip raid in Hong Kong.

Assentek, a fellow defendant in the case and also a manufacturer of console modifiers, was pleased with the ruling, but cautioned (Google translation):

However, in our view, this is probably a first episode in the general confrontation between France and Nintendo players in the world of gaming consoles including Assentek in particular.

|Via TechDirt|

Full post as published by GamePolitics.com on December 07, 2009 (boomark / email).