Dbrand Starts Selling Playstation 5 Replacement Plates and Dares Sony to Sue Them

[Alazam]

Summary

Dbrand has started offering matte black replacement plates for the Sony Playstation 5 console and dares Sony to sue them. The initial waves are sold out and new orders won't ship until May 2021.

 

Quotes

Quote

Not everybody is a fan of the white finish Sony settled on for the PlayStation 5. The good news is, the white faceplates are easy to remove, but the bad news is, Sony is in no hurry to offer official alternatives. That's where Dbrand comes in.

 

My thoughts

They look really nice and I am thinking about placing an order myself. Hopefully Sony doesn't actually try to sue Dbrand here since Dbrand is not using the Playstation name or logos on their design at all. I am pretty sure that's why Platestation 5 was forced to shut down and not actually just offering new plates.

 

Sources

https://www.pcmag.com/news/dbrand-starts-selling-totally-legal-matte-black-ps5-faceplates

 

https://www.theverge.com/2021/2/12/22279685/matte-black-ps5-faceplates-on-sale-dbrand-sue-us-sony

 

https://dbrand.com/shop/special-edition/ps5

[Letgomyleghoe]

That is way more sexy in matte black, thankyou D-brand.

[Radium_Angel]

2 minutes ago, Letgomyleghoe said:

That is way more sexy in matte black, thankyou D-brand.

Now if only they could work on that really weird overall shape of the PS5...

[Letgomyleghoe]

2 minutes ago, Radium_Angel said:

Now if only they could work on that really weird overall shape of the PS5...

idk If you could do that without stifling the airflow, sony made the ps5 look uber weird, and where the fan is boggles my mind.

[Oshino Shinobu]

Wouldn't be surprised if they were saving something like this for a future revision/more expensive model.

 

Or they just don't want to deal with the warranty nightmare of people removing panels on their own.

[DarkEnergy]

Sneaky

 

 

[TetraSky]

Nice stuff.

I do wonder what could Sony sue them for on this one. Other than the fact that it's a plastic plate that fits on their console... Can you even protect through patent or copyright, something like a plate of plastic shaped in such way that it fits this particular product only?

[Fasterthannothing]

Umm they will get sued as well. Sony has patents on the plates themselves. That was literally the reason the other company got shutdown. 

 

Quote

Sony’s intellectual property extended to the faceplates

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.videogameschronicle.com/news/ps5-faceplate-seller-is-now-cancelling-all-orders-following-legal-action-from-sony/amp/

[BlueChinchillaEatingDorito]

Did the something similar happen to the Xbox 360? Curious. 

[wamred]

This is the best thing I have read all day. LOL

[Arika]

This will come down to whoever's lawyers found the better loophole.

[Jet_ski]

If Sony sues they’ll definitely win easy; dbrand is totally doing this for the publicity. They figure either way they get exposure and sales.

 

It does look nice though!

[Jet_ski]

Just now, Arika S said:

This will come down to whoever's lawyers found the better loophole.

Nope. Sony has patents on the actual shape of those side panels. It’ll be an easy win if the sue.

[Alazam]

52 minutes ago, Jet_ski said:

Nope. Sony has patents on the actual shape of those side panels. It’ll be an easy win if the sue.

Sony has no such patent, not sure where you are getting that information. A patent would never be granted for something so generic...

[Taf the Ghost]

6 hours ago, TetraSky said:

Nice stuff.

I do wonder what could Sony sue them for on this one. Other than the fact that it's a plastic plate that fits on their console... Can you even protect through patent or copyright, something like a plate of plastic shaped in such way that it fits this particular product only?

There's nothing to sue them over. They aren't using any Sony Trademarks. The physical layouts of the plastics wouldn't be patentable. 

[Master Disaster]

9 hours ago, Oshino Shinobu said:

Wouldn't be surprised if they were saving something like this for a future revision/more expensive model.

 

Or they just don't want to deal with the warranty nightmare of people removing panels on their own.

Then don't make the panels removable? They can't sell an item with easily removable pieces, advertise the device as being "user customisable" then start complaining when users customise their devices.

 

2 hours ago, Alazam said:

Sony has no such patent, not sure where you are getting that information. A patent would never be granted for something so generic...

The evidence would disagree...

 

2 hours ago, Taf the Ghost said:

There's nothing to sue them over. They aren't using any Sony Trademarks. The physical layouts of the plastics wouldn't be patentable. 

Trademark =/= Patent. The Sony & PlayStation logos are trademarks.

 

From what I'm hearing it seems as though the patent for the design of the side panels is still pending, they don't have it yet but have applied for it.

[Delicieuxz]

8 hours ago, SlidewaysZ said:

Umm they will get sued as well. Sony has patents on the plates themselves. That was literally the reason the other company got shutdown. 

 

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.videogameschronicle.com/news/ps5-faceplate-seller-is-now-cancelling-all-orders-following-legal-action-from-sony/amp/

Faceplates aren't Sony's invention so I don't think they could patent them. And a patent for a faceplate would have expired maybe decades ago.

 

I think there's no legal grounds for Sony to sue someone for creating aftermarket faceplates, and that CustomizeMyPlates didn't have to stop making them but did just because they were intimidated, like commonly happens when somebody received a Cease & Desist letter - though often C&Ds can be ignored.

[Master Disaster]

1 minute ago, Delicieuxz said:

Faceplates aren't Sony's invention so I don't think they could patent them. And a patent for a faceplate would have expired maybe decades ago.

 

I think there's no legal grounds for Sony to sue someone for creating aftermarket faceplates, and that CustomizeMyPlates didn't have to stop making them but did just because they were intimidated, like commonly happens when somebody received a Cease & Desist letter - though often C&Ds can be ignored.

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/design-patent.asp

[Delicieuxz]

5 hours ago, Master Disaster said:

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/design-patent.asp

So, it's not the concept of faceplates themselves that could be patented, but an item's particular design.

 

From that link:

Quote

What Is a Design Patent?
A design patent is a form of legal protection of the unique visual qualities of a manufactured item. A design patent may be granted if the product has a distinct configuration, distinct surface ornamentation or both. In other words, a design patent provides protection for the ornamental design of something that has a practical utility.

 

I think the item here is the PS5, and not the faceplate itself - but maybe I'm wrong. Either way, if somebody buys an aftermarket faceplate for the PS5, they aren't competing with Sony because in order for someone to use a PS5 aftermarket faceplate they still have to have bought a PS5 from Sony and the stock faceplate that comes with it. So, aftermarket faceplates aren't competing with Sony when Sony aren't offering standalone faceplates of their own.

 

Even with an aftermarket faceplate on it, I think the item which the design-of is protected is still a PS5 bought from Sony.

 

5 hours ago, Master Disaster said:

The evidence would disagree...

 

Lots of people just cave when they receive a threat of legal action because they just assume that the company threatening legal action is doing so because they know the law and know that they're right. But that's not how the game of law is played, and it does all to often play-out as a game of trying to psyke people out to get what's wanted - with consumers or small startups normally being the ones who get played.

 

It seems that Customize My Plates are saying that's what happened, and now they're coming back and think that Sony doesn't have a case.

 

PS5 Faceplate Manufacturer Returns After Filing Patent, Claims It’s ‘Untouchable’ Now

Quote

The PlayStation 5 faceplate manufacturer claims that it has done its homework this time, and Sony won’t be able to halt the sales of its products. Additionally, CMP Shells has filed a patent for its designs and has argued that it’s not stealing anyone’s propriety design, rather improving upon an existing design.

 

“The patent is pending and all sales finalized before it’s approved are untouchable,” the company wrote on its website. “We didn’t know before. Now we do. Further we have not replicated anyone’s proprietary design. Our shells improve upon the original by allowing for more ventilation. We will be able to sell even after the patent is approved.”

 

An aftermarket faceplate maker could also revamp the shape of the faceplate to make it visually distinct from the stock one, beyond what it sounds like CMP say they're doing by adding additional ventilation.

[Jet_ski]

3 hours ago, Alazam said:

Sony has no such patent, not sure where you are getting that information. A patent would never be granted for something so generic...

You obviously don’t know how design patents work.

 

 

original article

https://nl.letsgodigital.org/spelcomputers-games/playstation-5-sony-dualsense-controller/

English article
https://gamerant.com/ps5-design-patents/

[ki8aras]

the only reason i don't like what's going on is because they're offering the robot skin ONLY for the ps5 and not other devices

[Fasterthannothing]

If you don't think Sony hasn't patented the side panel design then you haven't been looking at any of their patents.

 

Dbrand lawyer vs Sony lawyer go:

[tikker]

4 hours ago, Jet_ski said:

You obviously don’t know how design patents work.

 

 

original article

https://nl.letsgodigital.org/spelcomputers-games/playstation-5-sony-dualsense-controller/

English article
https://gamerant.com/ps5-design-patents/

Disclaimer: I indeed don't know how design patents work in detail. Wouldn't such a patent as described there cover the PS5 as a whole, i.e. the design of the console having removable face plates, or can they really sue for reproducing a piece of wavy plastic?

 

That aside, dBrand's page is marketing gold haha. I kind of wish to see them go to court. I'd imaging dBrand has the legal resources to endure/survive and we'll be enlightened about patent law.

[ravenshrike]

Mesh window faceplates when?

[Alazam]

7 hours ago, Jet_ski said:

You obviously don’t know how design patents work.

 

 

original article

https://nl.letsgodigital.org/spelcomputers-games/playstation-5-sony-dualsense-controller/

English article
https://gamerant.com/ps5-design-patents/

Obviously YOU don't know how patents work. That is for the system as a whole and not the side panels themselves. That patent means nobody else can make a PS5, it does NOT mean that nobody can make new side panels. Learn what you are talking about before you post...