$9 Million Awarded in Piracy Suit

The ESA announced yesterday that a california judge has awarded over $9 million in damages for violations of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) against a group of defendants.

The group, including Divineo Inc., a Canadian resident and French resident, were accused of producing "mod chips" and software called HDLoader that allows copies of games to be downloaded directly to a console's hard drive.

Said Ric Hirsch, Senior Vice President of Intellectual Property Enforcement for the ESA, "Mod chips and HDLoaders are key elements in facilitating video game piracy because they allow people to play illegally copied games on illegally modified video game consoles."

The DMCA, which was enacted in 1998, prohibits the manufacture, distribution and sale of products or services that circumvent technological protection measures designed to prevent unauthorized access to, and copying of, copyrighted materials.