Joystiq http://www.joystiq.com Joystiq http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/http://www.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif Joystiq http://www.joystiq.com en-us Copyright 2013 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[LGJ: Does PS3 Firmware 3.21 come with a refund?]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2010/04/15/does-ps3-firmware-3-21-come-with-a-refund/http://www.joystiq.com/2010/04/15/does-ps3-firmware-3-21-come-with-a-refund/http://www.joystiq.com/2010/04/15/does-ps3-firmware-3-21-come-with-a-refund/#commentsFiled under:

Mark Methenitis contributes Law of the Game on Joystiq ("LGJ"), a column on legal issues as they relate to video games:

[Flickr: DeclanTM]
By now you've installed the PS3 Firmware 3.21 update that removes the "Other OS" option (more or less) from your console. (You've at least read about it.) Besides angering the PS3 users who had been enjoying the Other OS feature, this incident has had some unintended consequences in the realm of consumer protection and warranty laws, both in the US and abroad. It's certainly a bit of an unusual situation, but hopefully this column will provide you a bit of an explanation on a global scale, and answer the question, can I get a refund?

For anyone who's not clear on what laws are involved, the broad areas of consumer protection and warranties both deal with protecting the purchasers of products from those who make or sell those products. The idea being that you should be entitled to purchase and own the product that you intended to buy, rather than something that's misleading, fraudulent, likely to break on its own, or broken. This is to help ensure the integrity of the marketplace, which helps secure consumer confidence. After all, aren't you more likely to buy a game console when you know it's a game console and (if new) covered by a warranty against defects, rather than an empty case or a box with bricks in it?

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JoystiqLGJ: Does PS3 Firmware 3.21 come with a refund? originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 15 Apr 2010 15:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>amazoncolumnsconsumer-protectionlawlaw-of-the-gamelegallgjlinuxother-osps3-firmwareps3-firmware-2.31refundyellow-dog-linuxThu, 15 Apr 2010 15:45:00 EST<![CDATA[LGJ: FTC could target EULAs]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2009/01/30/lgj-ftc-could-target-eulas/http://www.joystiq.com/2009/01/30/lgj-ftc-could-target-eulas/http://www.joystiq.com/2009/01/30/lgj-ftc-could-target-eulas/#commentsFiled under:

Each week Mark Methenitis contributes Law of the Game on Joystiq ("LGJ"), a column on legal issues as they relate to video games:


A few weeks back, I mentioned that the FTC was looking into regulating DRM. Well, in part on some discussions at the Game::Business::Law Conference, I have a sneaking suspicion that the FTC likely won't stop with DRM. In fact, I would be willing to guess that within the next few years, the often maligned End User License Agreement ("EULA") may fall into the realm of being regulated as further "consumer protection." Is it necessary? Well, that's a matter of opinion, really. The only certainty is that it will be able to bring in additional revenue for the government, which is certainly short on cash these days.

If the FTC opts to regulate EULAs, I see three probable scenarios to accomplish its goal. Before I get ahead of myself, I should describe what the theoretical goal of consumer protection is: to prevent companies from taking advantage of consumers. Generally, though, it isn't necessarily the average consumer who's seeing the greatest benefit from the regulations. Often it's the most uneducated consumer, which usually means the regulations tone things down to a level of near absurdity.

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JoystiqLGJ: FTC could target EULAs originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 30 Jan 2009 23:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>consumer-protectionend-user-license-agreementeulaftclawlaw-of-the-gamelgjFri, 30 Jan 2009 23:00:00 EST