import site lik-sang killed by sony’s lawyers

video games

October 24th, 2006 post a comment (1) stumble it! by: technabob

Lik-Sang, one of my favorite places for imported game systems and accessories from the Far East has been unexpectedly shut down as a result of increasing pressure from pending litigation from Sony. The nail in the coffin appears to be a recent judgment that ruled their sale of PSP consoles from Asia to Europe was unlawful.

Here’s an excerpt of what Lik-Sang had to say about the whole debacle:

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 trademarks, 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.

Sony claims that they were trying to “protect consumers from being sold hardware that does not conform to strict EU or UK consumer safety standards,” but Lik-Sang says that all PSP consoles they shipped included genuine Sony 100V-240V AC Adapters that carry CE and other safety marks for worldwide use. A press release has been posted explaining the whole sordid situation.

I think we know this has nothing to do with power supplies and everything to do with protecting distribution channels. Stupid lawyers.

Lik-Sang, you will be missed.

October 24th, 2006 post a comment (1) stumble it! by: technabob