Sony lawsuits force Lik-Sang to close up shop [update 1]

"Sorry, no Sony products are available for ordering at this time."

That's all that would've taken to keep this from happening. Instead, Lik-Sang decided to push their luck. They lost.

To devi8i & any others who agree with him:

There was nothing illegal with what Lik-Sang was doing.
They just resold to another region. Sony still got their money. Bought legit. Lik-Sang didn't shipjack them or steal from them.

The fact that infamously IP-guarding Nintendo saw no qualms with Lik-Sang selling their DS's to other regions ahead of release dates mean Sony was trying to put these folks out of business.

When all 3 sued Lik-Sang in 2002 it was because of piracy concerns which DO affect their profits.
What Lik-Sang did wasn't gonna hurt Sony. In fact they probably helped Sony in the long run. They bought the PSP's in Japan helping the anemic sales over there.

If Europe wasn't so neglected a region Lik-Sang wouldn't have a business. I often wonder why Eurogamers didn't just turn wholesale to PC after how console companies historically treated them. You're lucky ANY of 'em are console gamers honestly.

Sure Sony couldn't sell it for the price they wanted to much later on in Europe but at Lik-Sang retains Sony buyers as fans by helping them get a rare product out. The delays are horrendous outside of USA & Japan regions. Letting Lik-Sang get stuf out a little early & little price-shifted insures that at least the people will be more ready to buy Sony products.
I'm an American by the way & surprisingly I care about MORE than just the little world I live in. Almost an unAmerican mindset I know.

Many people like me don't bother with imports. But some use them for want & sometimes out of necessity due to how different regions are treated. If anyone is willing to go through all that then let 'em. At the very least you're insuring a loyal fanbase to regions which don't have easy access.

And just think it ain't nothing to pirate. Keep up stuff like this & folks'll go black market on your ass out of spite. Then you make NO money at ALL.

John Lucas

furthermore: Lik-sang is not an innocent victim. They have been sued by Sony and Microsft in the past for selling and distributing mod chips for ps2's and xbox's.

AND Nintendo Sued lik-sang and won over a device lik-sang sold allowing the copying of nintendo games for distribution.

So lets see: Nintendo sues lik-sang, MS sues lik-sang, AND Sony sues lik-sang, yet we want to bash Sony??

So attempting to defend copyrights, trademarks, and the authorized retailers that sell their products is wrong? I'm not seeing the logic other than people being rabid for anti-Sony news.

I have to say that most of the logic I have seen is illogical. Sony did not take legal action to shut Lik-Sang down in all aspects, but to seek damage for violations.

Yes, it is an underhanded business tactic by suing in multiple countries. No, I do not agree with it, but that is the nature of the world legal system.

Heck, I'd love to see someone's take on a modern version of Nintendo's Tengen fiasco. Arguing that this is detrimental to the gaming community is ridiculous.

We bash sony because sony's suit had no ground. Selling products you bought with the purpose of selling it overseas is not illegal.

The london court declared it illegal because the couldn't show up for defense. This isn't about trademarks or copyrights, its about snuffing out free trade through underhanded legal means.

You need to work on your reading comprehension.

@devi8i

we only want to bash sony because after today, the company is no more. Big N and MS didn't put the company out of business. Does the end justify the means?

It seems like there's something more going on than meets the eye, if Lik-Sang closed up shop rather than just stopped carrying PSP stuff...but I have a lot more respect for Lik-Sang than I do for Sony at this point. I've dealt with them more, and I've had a more positive experience with them as a company.

There's definitely something odd going on with both sides. From what I understand, the UK court doesn't have any legal jurisdiction over Lik-Sang, which only has offices in Hong Kong. So, from what I gather, Lik-Sang ignored the case as irrelevant. Didn't hire representation, and didn't pay the awarded damages.

This leads me to question why they had to close, as opposed to simply halting PSP sales, or stop selling to the UK...or, perhaps, even ignoring the ruling until a relevant court passed judgement. Something seems off...though I am more likely to side with Lik-Sang on the issue, since I've dealt with them more, and I've had a more positive experience with them as a company.

And I believe that Sony is *absolutely* in the wrong over this...they're exploiting the fact that many judges are not familiar with the high-tech industry. Not only was Lik-Sang's activity not harmful to Sony's business, it was not illegal (at least, in my admittedly limited understanding of international trade), and attacking import business just seems foolhardy...especially for a company facing as many financial challenges as Sony is right now.

On a further note, Sony's argument is basically that a retailer cannot sell Sony products internationally, on the grounds of some hazy "intellectual rights" claim. The whole argument is based on Sony claiming that a company has complete rights to govern what exactly is done with its products, even after they have sold it.

In simplified terms, this is all part of a global attitude shift in the corporate realm towards consumer licensing replacing consumer ownership, and that is a VERY dangerous and undesirable route to be headed down. You will not own the things you "buy." You will not be buying them, directly; you will be buying a license to USE them, in the specific and limited terms laid out by the company that created them.

The people who import are the hardcore gamers, who follow the news and know what's coming out in other places. And if they want something, they're going to want it regardless. Cut off the avenue for legitimate sales, and you're only encouraging piracy. Sure the importers are a very small segment of the market, but "some sales" are better than "no sales," which is what they'll be getting if people start pirating all those import games because they no longer have a place to buy them.

Hardware importing is a little bit tricky in terms of benefits vs. detriments for the product maker, and I can see why many businesses would not be thrilled with it...but again, it is still sales their legitimate products, which they still received income from. As stated before, people who import are the hardcore gamers, and they understand full well what they're getting into. Sony's statement in that regard is beyond ludicrous, especially since Lik-Sang goes out of their way to include region-appropriate adapters.

Well remember the case was filed in other countries as well, some that may have influence over Lik-Sang, also it sets a Legal precendent, allowing other companies to do the same.

Basically they see the writing on the wall and know its time to get out

149... I think you are missing a few things...

Europe, Asia, North America, and Austrailia often have different launch windows. Often times certain agreements are made between the manufacturers and the retailers. Retailers often pay for exclusivity say for pre-orders, special bundles etc. Retailers also reach contractual agreeements with teh manufacturers to not sell the product ahead of time or else face stiff penalties including law suits, reduced shipments, and the inability to gain exculusivity and or price breaks in the future. Gamestop paid a pretty penny for the right to pre-sale PS3's, as I am sure european game stores have reached similar agreements with Sony. Companys that circumvent these agreements and allow retailers to bring a product to market ahead of the agreements through importing outside the approved channels damage the ability of retailers and manufacturers to honor their agreements.

Secondly, companies like gamestop and EB reach agreements with companies like Sony, Nintendo etc to use the respective companies trademarks IP. When Best Buy uses the microsoft logo on print ads they do it with the explict permission of Microsoft and must abide by the rules of use set forth by MS.

So lets not confuse the issues here. Lik-sang was using Sony's copyrights and trade names without permission. This was the legal standing they used to file the complaints. Sony has to protect its investments and its trademarks AND protect the supply chain/vendor/retailer relationships. People may think this is an attack on teh consumer but it is really a protection of all companies. Nintendo and MS won't say it but Sony's lawsuits were in Nintendos and MS's best intrests as well.

@ 151.

And if Sony would have gotten their act together and released in Europe as they originally promised, then they wouldn't have to "protect" their trade names.

We now live in a world that is connected by the Internet. Companies can't keep relying on the old methods of business. Information is available anywhere at anytime. If people want your product, why not just give it to them?

Legal or not, Sony is at fault with the consumer here.

This HAS to go viral. We need a meme. Like how Kotaku coined the SUXASSES for Sony's controller. It's the only way to avenge Lik-Sang.

Rest in peace, Lik-Sang. The power of the Internet will avenge thee.

...for MASSIVE DAMAGE.

This what happens when you deal in the Gray Market.
Lik-sang should of just follow the rules like Play-Asia (by changing high shipping rates to europe), and stop ALL PSP and PS3 sells in till all this blows over.

But Shame on Sony and the EU for doing this. The EU SHOULD of been smart about this and stop it right from the start.

You know what gets me the people that say Lik Sang doesn't matter, because do you think sony would actually spend money suing a company in several regions through out the world if Lik sang wasn't a threat?

So either you think Sony is run by a bunch of idiots who sue people for no reason, or you can't recognize that sony viewed Lik Sang's business or their business type, as a threat. I just don't get sony fans they make so many non-sensical arguments that they make sony look even more idiotic in their defense. Because really if nobody was using Lik Sang sony used their massive legal machine just for the fun of it! Which means a company that doesn't have the money to send the proper cables with their new PS3's does have the disposable revenue to sue people for the fun of it. Does that sound good to anybody? And now to back under my rock, and lvl my paladin.

NOW im pissed. i used liksang nearly a dozen times to get items that just plain arent available where i live. i find it totally ass-backwards that sony sued these guys into bankruptcy for doing the same shit gamestop and EB games do.

BUT i guess when youve been fucking up as much as sony has lately, you gotta recoup SOME losses SOMEWHERE. they should have rethought their next-gen outing ($200 loss on a console that they cant even make enough to match their own predictions is pathetic) and product strategies into something actually worth buying, or maybe, instead of suing respected independant shops from around the world into submission.

sony has just joined EA on my shitty-corporate-cunts-who-hate-the-consumer boycott list. not like they have anything i want coming out.

wii60, indeed ftw.

Fuck Sony


Their brand is no longer as strong as it once was. Their products are becoming inferior to the competition, yet their prices are still so high.

Lik-sang wasnt doing anything illegal, and could have probably won with maybe some small changes to their website (removing any Sony logos or other properties). As a vendor, you can sell whatever the hell you want to sell. If i go get my vendors license, i can buy a bunch of PS3s from anywhere and go resell them. Just as I can go buy a bunch of toliet paper or Bottled water, etc and resell it. Unless it is regulated specially by the government because of danger to the consumer (like medical supplies, etc). Sony is trying to say what Lik-sang is doing is dangrous to the consumer[2].

"Authorized Dealer" only means that Sony sells to that dealer at wholesale prices AND Sony does not have to honor warrenties from products bought from un-Authorized Dealers, etc. It has zero to do with legally being able to sell anything.

It looks like lik-sang saw the writing on the wall...Sony was going to sue them into oblivion (which they have fought in the past[1]), so they took their profits and folded early, instead of fighting and spending large amounts of money (which they probably dont have) just to prove their right to sell. Smart move. This is pretty bad for the import industry though, as this shows Sony (as well as Nintendo and Microsoft) that they can easily shut down these small shops...bad news.

References:
[1]For those with short memories, here are some past info
http://arstechnica.com/journals/thumbs.ars/2005/8/9/910
http://www.lik-sang.com/news.php?artc=2707

[2]From sony: "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".

Basically sony is trying some special pleading, saying that its dangrous for un-authorized dealers to sell these things because the consumer may be mislead or something.....pretty dirty pool

I'm not a fanboy for any gaming company, and never have been. But this just gives me more reason to believe that Sony may be getting a bit too power-hungry.

Thanks a bunch, Sony [/sarcasm]... Lik-Sang was the only place on the 'net that I ever trusted for imports, and it was a great place at that. This was unneeded.

From http://nintendo-revolution.blogspot.com

Online videogame retailer Lik-Sang has shut down its operation, citing lawsuits by Sony Computer Entertainment as the reason. The console manufacturer had strongly objected to the company importing its PlayStation Portable console from Asia and selling it in Europe and North America. This practise is sometimes referred to as parallel trade, parallel import or grey import.

...

My own research suggests, though, that the ruling of the High Court in London may, in fact, contravene European Union law. The E.U. Commission has made it quite clear that it welcomes parallel trade in the games industry:

"Restrictions of parallel trade represent an infringement of Article 81 of the EU treaty. Experience has proven that parallel trade leads to efficiency gains and lower prices in the EU and is, thus, beneficial for consumers."

Further, Mario Monti, the former Commissioner in charge of competition, noted as part of a similar ruling against Nintendo:

"The European Commission is here to protect the public from business practices designed to keep prices artificially high. European families spend millions every year on video games and we want to make sure that they are not being swindled."

Ive never been one to bash on a company, but Sony just really seems to know what buttons to push. I'm sure Lik-Sang was threatening the existance of your company I CALL BULLSHIT!

To those who say that no money was lost: If given a choice of staring at the barrel of a gun, and putting the gun away, which would you choose? It's a pre-emptive closure to PREVENT lost of money. After all, you can't sue a nonexistant entity. (or at least, if they try to sue, they can't use American/European ground advantage because the company no longer exists there)

Sony can go fuck themselves for this move.

Dear Play-Asia,

Watch your cornhole.

Ok People, Time to Pirate all things Sony!

One other thing: piracy does NOT harm large companies as much as you think. All it does is harm the legitimate consumers. (Yes, paraphrasing the whole software protection problem, and piracy just make companies use more drastic software protection, etc.)

F*** You $ony. I hope you and you're PS3 crash and burns!

Wii360 for the *ucking WIN.

Edit-

I hope you and your*..

"...All Sony needs to do now is tell the world that they are bigger than Jesus."

Posted at 12:57PM on Oct 24th 2006 by jc 7 stars

>> We are bigger than Jesus! Not only that, but we also have access to the fourth dimension! > Ken Kuturagi

Aww so sad, Sony had every right to do this. Lik-Sang were warned to stop selling PSPs to Europe and they chose to ignore Sony and look what happens. Yes I did buy a couple of things from them but this is no big loss for me. Name anything on Lik-Sangs website and I can guarantee I can find it in less than 5min at any of the dozen or so other sites on the Internet.

Also for all the people saying "Sony sucks I will never buy any of their products again." 1)you probably didn't have enough money to get a PS3 anyway so you say this just to sound cool. 2) Are going to get one anyway and are just saying this to sound cool. Lastly I doubt if a few little Internet crybabies not buying a PS3 will really hurt Sony. So go ahead and boycott Sony if you want I will still be getting my PS3 on launch day from Gamestop. As I couldn't care less about their business practices I just like the Ps3 and the future games they will have. Also before you call me a fanboy I own a Xbox360 too and will get a Wii when it comes out. So write or e-mail all the little letters you want or sign all the online petitions you want it will not make a bit of difference. Just give up your futile attempts are pointless.

Lastly I doubt if a few little Internet crybabies not buying a PS3 will really hurt Sony. So go ahead and boycott Sony if you want I will still be getting my PS3 on launch day from Gamestop. As I couldn't care less about their business practices I just like the Ps3 and the future games they will have. Also before you call me a fanboy I own a Xbox360 too and will get a Wii when it comes out. So write or e-mail all the little letters you want or sign all the online petitions you want it will not make a bit of difference. Just give up your futile attempts are pointless.

Posted at 2:54AM on Oct 25th 2006 by just me 0 stars


All I can say is damn, just damn. Please tell me that you wont father a child and I'll be able to sleep tonight OK ?

Well that was an intelligent reply, and you are the kind of person that Sony is supposed to take seriously? Anyway I do have two children so sleep tight you mental midget.

I'm a little confused... Just because they can no longer ship Sony products to Europe (and perhaps a few other places depending upon where else they were sued), they have to go out of business?

So NONE of their other products (Nintendo, Microsoft, PC, etc) make them ANY profit at all?

This angers me.

Sony did have the right to take action against LS. However, instead of acting like a respectable company and asking LS to stop. They bleed the company to death. You want compensation Sony? Fine, but sue ONCE. I can not honestly believe people think what Sony did was just. They damed well knew that suing LS multiple times would run them out of business. They are just a small import company, they can't handle attending all those cases, much less pay for lawyers.

What the hell happened Sony? I loved the PS2, more than any other system(and hell, I'm a Nintendo fanboy). Even though the price for the PS3 ticked me off, I still wanted to buy one when the price went down...well...not any more. What you did was dirty, I would rather burn in hell than support you scumbags. If this were my only issue with you I would forgive it, but it is PLAINLY obvious that you don't give a DAMN about your customers(hardcore or otherwise).

I'm boycotting all Sony products, I don't care if it doesn't put a dent in their sales. I'm sticking with companies that at least TRY to make it look like they care about me. I only hope Kingdom Hearts 3 comes out on something besides the PS3.

More infor on legality of this whole thing:

http://nintendo-revolution.blogspot.com/2006/10/lik-sang-closes-down-blames-sony.html

Just FYI

$ony doesn't care about the gaming community.

I bet they don't even care about other other stuff that were avalible on that site from the other revenues like PC stuff,Mircosoft stuff,Nintendo stuff,collectibles,and rare accesories...

Jeeze $ony.. only in it for the money. ONLY for the money...freaken jerks. A day later and I'm still angry about this. How do you *uckin $onyfanBOTS defend them SO MUCH over the CRAP they've done to themselves and TO YOU over these past few years all the way til even NOW?? They're *ucking up BIG TIME and their P.O.$ 3 isn't even out in retail yet!! "I don't care, I'll get a P$3 anyways because its the greatestestestet lolol123" DUMBASSES!! AND you FAIL in LOGIC/REASONING....just like your company.

As a Gamepark fan SONY SUCK MY AMERICANO MEATBALLS YA DIRTY JAPS!

For those of you shouting at Sony for being an evil corporation and Microsoft and Nintendo are the only way to go, you tend to look over certain stories:

http://www.out-law.com/page-3067

Nintendo was fined 168 million Euros for artificially inflating prices in Europe in 91-98.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_antitrust_trial

How bout the U.S. v. Microsoft for antitrust issues?

Listen, Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft - they've all broken the law, they've all sued companies as good business practices. There's no point in boycotting a company because of "immoral" business practices because guess what? They all do it.

If you're refusing to buy a PS3 because Sony has "bad" business practices and choose to buy a 360 and/or Wii instead, you're nothing short of a hypocrite.

Now if you buy them for other reasons (games you want), then that's fine by me. Just stop complaining and thinking this is going to end Sony.

Well that was an intelligent reply, and you are the kind of person that Sony is supposed to take seriously? Anyway I do have two children so sleep tight you mental midget.

Posted at 4:07AM on Oct 25th 2006 by just me 0 stars


And the comments issued by you where (intelligent)?
When I see simpletons like you spout insults and half
truths at people you do not know, you deserve what you get. The reply you issued was typical of someone with, how should I put this, Limited abilitys. All I seem to here from you is translated into WAAAAAAAAAA.

http://www.PetitionOnline.com/liksang8/petition.html

Sour Grapes my A$$.
If Lik Sang was a huge multinational corporation like Sony, they would've been able to make every court appearance.

What's next, ebay? The European gamers I know who had early PSPs, got them from ebay not lik sang.

The real Hypocracy is that the Sony Europe executives were buying PSPs from Lik Sang, and it wasn't for the lawsuit. They only needed to buy ONE for that.

Sony really didn't need to give me another reason to hate them. I just forgave them for releasing the PSP a year before anything good came out for it.

http://www.PetitionOnline.com/liksang8/petition.html

So we have a free world marked on this planet, huh? And we obviously have some institutions that rule this "free market"!

Well thats stupid. Sony, you guys are morons! I am never buying from you again!!!!!!

i find other web sell PS3 ( www.globaltrackonline.com )i already make pre-order here ... so did Sony sue this company..???

i hate sony. i too was very fond of lik sang, (i wear their lanyard at work every day) and will be sad to see them gone.
sony always have to do whatever possible (no matter how low) to brainwash less knowledgable gamers into the buying of thier products. (see http://www.news4gamers.com/xbox360/News-12748.aspx)

ive only ever had two consoles fail on me in my time. my ps1 - (wont read discs unless upside down) and my ps2 - (disc read error constantly)

im not buying any more sony products, and might just spread the word of this issue to every one i know! woo!

I havnt even gotten my damn cash back yet from liksang, and it cleared on the 31st. Im pissed.

Could everyone please stop blaming Sony for putting Lik-Sang out of business...? If anyone did only the slightest effort to investigate the Sony - Lik-Sang case they would know that:

1.) Lik-Sang hadn't paid Sony anything yet. (And it's the question if they even could have been forced to, since they operate in Hong-Kong, and Hong-Kong no longer is British territory.
2.) Lik-Sang didn't defend it's case in court (so also didn't incur any fees for that)
3.) Sony must have sent various cease and desist letters before sueing them in the first place. (Which they propably ignored.)

Lik-Sang had plenty of better options, outside of closing their shop:
A.) After the first CaD letter they could just have given in and stopped selling the PSP to other Europe.
B.) They could've contacted Sony to try and work out some kind of agreement.
C.) Even after the lawsuit, they could've just stopped selling PSP's to other regions!

So, in the end, Lik-Sang's decision to close down was just to give Sony a bad rep, and all your Lik-Sang fanboys are falling for it. It is possible that they actually were forced out of business, but rather because of their own finances or other factors. But trust me, Sony really can't be blamed for anything.

Now with the launch of the PS3 and Wii, Lik-Sang has made a REALLY bad business decision. Everyone in the world was probably planning on buying a Wii or PS3 through Lik-Sang. (I know I was...) That's a lot of money they're missing out on there.

But don't worry fanboy's, I'm sure Lik-Sang will be back some day... Perhaps not as "Lik-Sang" but they will be back.

Anyway, STOP BLAMING SONY FOR PUTTING LIK-SANG OUT OF BUSINESS: SONY DIDNT RECEIVE ONE PENNY FROM LIK-SANG, LIK-SANG DIDN'T SHOW UP ON COURT, LIK-SANG PROBABLY IGNORED MULTIPLE CEASE AND DESIST LETTERS, IT WAS LIK-SANGS OWN STUPID DECISION!

Well, I hope that clears everything up.

WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO SONY?! I remember when they were a good, experienced company with quality products, and a revered name. I guess they got corporationized (or whatever it's called...) Just like Microsoft was, but at least they're doing better, because they have so much money they don't know what to do with, so they're just listening to the masses and adding stuff people actually want. Not wasting time suing better companies like Lik-Sang. Lawyers are gay. Just like corporations. And their CEOs.

Well f*ck Sony! No more PS3 for me, although I have a sense that it will still be selling good! Because Lik-Sang is sooooo important to me, they have the games that UK doesn't have, as well as the figurine and soundtracks, they got everything for gamers... Sony made mistakes this time! F*CK U SONY!!! F*CK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

BOYCOTT SONY!!!!!!!! F U SONY!!!!!!!!

Ok, what you are all missing here is that Lik-Sang does not have the distribution rights to sell Sony products outside of their own region. Legally, you have to wait for official product launches and buy through authorized channels if you want something. Lik-Sang should feel fortunate that Sony and the other console makers have been overlooking their actions all this time. At the end of the day, though, if someone decides to enforce their trademarks, patents, and distribution rights through the courts, that is their right. Yes, you can argue they were selling Sony products, so Sony was still making money, but that isn't what is at issue here. What is at issue is that someone in Europe contracted with Sony Japan for the right to distribute Sony products in the UK and Europe and Lik-Sang is interfering with those persons ability to make a profit on those products. European retailers are also hurt by Lik-Sang. Obviously Lik-Sang has gotten so large that they have become a real threat to those who hold the rights to distribute Sony products in various places and something needed to be done to stop them. Do I think closed markets are right?? Hell no, but the law is the law and Lik-Sang just got caught breaking it.

Lik-Sang, I am your father....

Ok this may seem strange to all of you but i still love the dreamcast first sony destroyed the dreamcast with its false hype about the ps2 when you cant even tell the differance between a ps2 and dreamcast game cept for maybee a shinier helmet in some football game, now these pieces of crap have destroyed my only source of new dreamcast equipment and Play-Asia sucks for dreamcast so there not a option and for the record the only reason to file multiple lawsuit in multiple courts is to bully your way into a default judgment in one of those courts, sony has more then enough money to send a lawyer to each venue while lik-sang didnt it simple they get a automatic judgement without even arguing there case, so this meens they dont have a legal leg to stand on they just used a trick that big buisnesses that want to drive little guys into the ground have used for years.