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Sony in legal battle over UK PSP sales

3 June 2005 19:34 by James "Dela" Delahunty | 15 comments

The Sony Playstation Portable (PSP) console is already selling like wild fire in the United States and in Japan but the European launch of the console was delayed by shortages until 1st September. However, in the UK some retailers are already selling the PSP that they have imported from Japan and the United States. This has been going on since the start of the year and now it is time for a legal crackdown by Sony.

They have sent a cease and desist letter to ElectricBirdLand claiming that the site is infringing Sony's trademark. "The law is clear, and the activity of parallel importing of PSP products from the U.S./Japan is unlawful. It should be clearly understood that under no circumstances does Sony Computer Entertainment consent to such activities," A spokesman said in a statement.

However, ElectricBirdLand is not backing down as Sony does not own the PSP trademark in Britain, where it has been registered by a small Bristol-based IT and design firm, Owtanet Ltd. "We are not trying to belittle the Sony brand or damage any future sales as demand for the product is so great," said Dan Morelle, managing director of ElectricBirdLand. "All we offer is the one thing Sony has failed to do, and that is to give the customer exactly what they want, when they want it."

Source:
Reuters

Permalink to this article

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Sony spotlights movies for European PSP launch - disapproves of PSP Porn (20 June 2005)

Sony defends delay of European PSP launch (19 May 2005)

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European PSP release moved to September (26 April 2005)

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Discuss this article!
venomX05 (Senior Member) 3 June 2005 21:42
Quote: "All we offer is the one thing Sony has failed to do, and that is to give the customer exactly what they want, when they want it." Thank GOD there are people like that around...kinda of reminds me of p2p operators! [ + quote]
Doggy_Bot (Inactive) 4 June 2005 4:39
LoL!~! Ahh Sony... [ + quote]
akoli (Inactive) 4 June 2005 7:19
sony is going well down hill .....we'll see the same crap when the PS3 is released we all know you can buy imported ones well before the launch dates at about 300% more their probably in a huff cause they aint seein the extra cash goin to their bank balance .... [ + quote]
Mr_Del (Member) 4 June 2005 9:26
The main problem is that SONY and other companies, Due to compitition, Are forced to sell before enough units can be made. That is in order to effectively compete. So the company simply does not have enough units in exsistance to releasse all at once worldwide. They could choose to wait until that happens but they would fall to far behind the other companies. After the first release is bought up then not as many more will have to be made for the next release in the same area. They determine in what order it will be released based on history sales records. Of course they will first release in an area where it is more likely to sell out then move down from there. So you can't say this is all SONYs fault. Some of it may be but who knows. The sales generated from the first country release are used to make units for other country releases. All companies do this but I admit it does seem to take SONY a bit longer. As far as the article goes. Why should SONY care this is going on. They are still making lagitamate sales. The units are not stolen. Those shops bought them from another shop to make them available to thier people. I see no problem in that at all. If SONY is pissed about this tiny thing then they should be sueing E-Bay as well. People in US could buy units from JAPAN days after its release there thanks to E-BAY. Don't know if they would play games sold in US or not. Oh and PSP slaughters the DS -Del [ + quote]
denzilla (Junior Member) 4 June 2005 9:45
Where is it selling like wildfire in the US? Its not much of a conversation piece in my area and most of the talk is "too expensive". [ + quote]
Xmonkey29 (Inactive) 4 June 2005 12:18
there selling alot let sony make some money [ + quote]
Mr_Del (Member) 4 June 2005 13:38
I was just thinkning about this topic and realized something. SONY should be thanking the shops that are doing this. You know the shops will have to sell to thier customers a few bucks above the final price at release. That is of course in order to make a profit. In other words. The shops will have to sell the PSP for more than what SONY intends in order to make profit. When SONY does release PSP to the UK the sale price will be lower than what the shops currently have to charge. People will see this as a price break and flock to save the few bucks (compared to current shop prices). Again its not like they are stealing the units. SONY is still makeing money off every unit sold like this. Amazing what you think about when nature calls. -Del [ + quote]
denzilla (Junior Member) 4 June 2005 13:47
Game companies have always had an issue with people importing games/systems. This crap has been going on since the 8-bit Nintendo was the shlits. The difference back then was that Big companies weren't bankrolling the filthy politicians to change laws to their liking. Well at least not in the videogame industry.... [ + quote]
pro`noob (Senior Member) 4 June 2005 15:22
well i dont see why i should wait ages for my uk psp. im ordering a jap version off ebay next week. [ + quote]
miller4 (Inactive) 5 June 2005 2:33
sony are doing it all wrong, they think releasing the psp so early is gona make people buy it. sony suck XBOX IS DA BEST [ + quote]
spooky2k (Member) 5 June 2005 8:32
releasing it early?the hell. lol. stupid hater. its LATE. thats what this article is about. hahaha. dipshit. Dan x [ + quote]
six.6.six (Member) 5 June 2005 13:56
All i can come up with is WOW i believe a sale is a sale. Unless Sony is worried that the people buying the PSP'S in the UK are going to realize they paid to much for this handheld and it's going to deflate the UK release :( [ + quote]
wild77 (Inactive) 7 June 2005 11:49
FK SONY** Anyone who buys there crap should have there Head examined! This is a company that wants you to buy there products like DVD Burners and blank media. While trying to stop us with there new encryption schemes and legal threats! [ + quote]
Mr_Del (Member) 7 June 2005 15:14
I am a SONY fan with somethings. TVs and games. Most of thier other stuff has become crap. But it is sad to say I may no longer support SONY in any area. All this stuff I am finding out about them. Why should I support such a company no matter how good thier product may be. I am close to deciding to add SONY to my personal Boycot list. -Del [ + quote]
m3rs4 (Newbie) 17 June 2005 20:37
The Fact is, PSP is NOT Selling like wild fire in the US and Japan. Supply Vs Demand. Sony is using this tactic to create a smokescreen that PSP is in Hugh demand. Just Look at the slumping PSP h/w sales in both Japan and North American(In fact, in North America, price may drop to US$199 for most retailers). As for this lawsuit in UK, Sony just wants to make the headlines, getting more exposure for its PSP, esp. in a no-PSP land such as europe- the land of last hope for the Sony PSP. [ + quote]