Dbrand served with "Cease and Desist" from Sony for Darkplates

[methodG]

So Dbrand is potentially in legal trouble for their Darkplates. 

 

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The tl;dr is that we were served a Cease & Desist letter from lawyers representing Sony Interactive Entertainment.

 

Here's the statement from Sony's lawyers

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It has come to [Sony]’s attention that dbrand has been promoting and selling console accessories in a manner that is deeply concerning to our client. First, dbrand is selling faceplates for the PS5 console (in both standard edition and digital edition configurations) that replicate [Sony]’s protected product design. Any faceplates that take the form of our client’s PS5 product configuration, or any similar configuration, and are produced and sold without permission from [Sony] violate our client’s intellectual property rights in the distinctive console design.

 

There's a lot more that's mentioned but I have just extracted the key-points. 

 

Dbrand have an official announcement about this, on their official subreddit. 

 

The same has also been reported by The Verge.

 

Potential WAN show content? 

[tikker]

Honestly I'm surprised they waited as long as they did to sue them. I love how their attitude hasn't changed and they still give zero fucks in their public response.

[Arika]

Didn't this also happen when they first released them?

[tikker]

I'm also certain they knew full well they would get in trouble with this and just wanted to see how far they could push it. Just look at how they marketed it, literally daring Sony to sue them.

[Sir Asvald]

[WolframaticAlpha]

Tinfoil hat opinion: Linus owns sony, and is mad for not getting his payment.

 

Anyway, I hope sony loses this one hard. This case is extremely stupid. It is like apple suing someone for selling iphone back covers.

[tikker]

21 minutes ago, WolframaticAlpha said:

Tinfoil hat opinion: Linus owns sony, and is mad for not getting his payment.

 

Anyway, I hope sony loses this one hard. This case is extremely stupid. It is like apple suing someone for selling iphone back covers.

It feels similar to Apple banning that Apple Watch keyboard from the store before introducing their own. I think dbrand is right and Sony intends to release their own spin on this soon.

[TetraSky]

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extensive remedies under U.S. law, including injunctive relief against further sale of any infringing materials, destruction of all infringing materials, recovery of our client’s lost profits and damages, and statutory damages of up to $150,000 per infringed work.

Gotta love BS statutory damages that WAAAAY exceed the cost of their own products. And that's PER plates they've sold. Too bad Dbrand is Canadian, so their stupid US laws don't apply here unless they sue them in the states. Though it's still high, it is a far cry from US laws. Our $100 to $5000 one is the reason why studios only send Cease and desist letters to movie/music pirates in Canada. Because it would cost more to sue, than they could possibly get back.

 

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Thanks to our client’s extensive marketing of the PS5 console, its commercial popularity and its massive earned media coverage, the console’s unique product configuration, including without limitation the two vertical faceplates, has become exclusively associated with [Sony] in the minds of consumers and has come to symbolize considerable goodwill (the PS5 console design, together with the PlayStation Word Marks and Logos, the “PlayStation Marks”).

Oh so you don't need to file for a patent or anything now. You can just pay a lot of money for marketing your product and suddenly no one can "copy" it. Nice to know.  

 

 

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Fast forward a couple of months from that original Cease & Desist. To our surprise, Sony's lawyers advised us that a patent had been issued in Canada which purports to cover the shape of the PlayStation 5's side panels. Why didn't they tell us sooner? Great question.

Instead of answering it, let’s get to the point: we've elected to submit to the terrorists' demands… for now.

While we strongly believe in the consumer's right to customize and modify their hardware with aftermarket components, your Darkplates are now a collector's item. You know what they say - you either die a Darkplates owner, or you live long enough to see yourself become the scalper.

In closing, fuck you and especially fuck Sony. Talk soon.

Ah here it is, patent did get issued in Canada a few months later. So unless Dbrand makes faceplants with a completely different shape. Like adding a cupholder or whatever on the side of the PS5, they likely can't do anything here.

But really... Fuck Sony. Their argument that someone might see someone else's modded PS5 and wrongly assume it's from Sony is ridiculous. Pretty much anyone ever who has modded something, will be boasting high and wide about it to everyone who ever goes in their home "and this here is my PS5 with sick custom darkplates, because the original white ones were cancerous to my eyes"

[demonix00]

10 hours ago, Arika S said:

Didn't this also happen when they first released them?

I think that was just Dbrand telling sony "come and have a go if you think you're hard enough" when they announced them since sony had already done the C&D thing to other companies making or intending to make faceplates for the PS5.

[Quackers101]

dont know how they market themselves and such around this.

but so long they don't claim its selled as a sony/official part or so.

 

I don't quite get it. But I can see sony win just because of their size and able to somehow claim copyrighted design or market themselves like it was a legit product when it "might" cause issues compared to original  and "carefully" designed console and "we intend to sell one in the future, so they can bugger off". kind of like swapping the batteries in phones argument, even without the danger.

[adarw]

9 hours ago, TetraSky said:

Canadian, so their stupid US laws don't apply here unless they sue them in the states

and just like that @TetraSky concluded that he/she is Canadian.

[-CLASSIFIED-]

sony doesn't even have a patent for the side plates so IMO fuck Sony , try again later when and if you get a patent

[Vishera]

Debrand can sue Sony now for attempting to monopolize a trade and preventing the sales of their goods

[JZStudios]

On 10/16/2021 at 3:26 AM, tikker said:

I'm also certain they knew full well they would get in trouble with this and just wanted to see how far they could push it. Just look at how they marketed it, literally daring Sony to sue them.

You'd think if they were literally asking for it they would fight it in court or something. This is like daring the biker gang guy at the bar to punch you in the face after you tell him to fuck off, then after he punches you you're just like "Oh, okay. I'm sorry."

[poochyena]

What is a "sideplate" and what is a "darkplate"? I read the reddit page and some of the articles, but none of that is ever explained so i'm confused what the lawsuit is about...

I thought Dbrand just sold stickers?

[Jeppes]

Can you even ban 3rd party spare parts in any other western country than USA?

[Quackers101]

33 minutes ago, poochyena said:

What is a "sideplate" and what is a "darkplate"? I read the reddit page and some of the articles, but none of that is ever explained so i'm confused what the lawsuit is about... I thought Dbrand just sold stickers?

they did a custom side panel, those white plastic sides to be swapped with FULL scanned replication in BLACK.

Which is just changing the outer plastic which is more or less a visual thing. and they do skins, but think its maybe just for the middle.

[poochyena]

Just now, Quackers101 said:

they did a custom side panel, those white plastic sides to be swapped with FULL scanned replication in BLACK.

Which is just changing the outer plastic which is more or less a visual thing. and they do skins, but think its maybe just for the middle.

So they made actual panels, not just a sticker to put over the existing panel? That does seem problematic.

[tikker]

1 hour ago, JZStudios said:

You'd think if they were literally asking for it they would fight it in court or something. This is like daring the biker gang guy at the bar to punch you in the face after you tell him to fuck off, then after he punches you you're just like "Oh, okay. I'm sorry."

I think in this analogy the punch has yet to come. So far Sony has only somewhat threatened to sue them (for which they might not have sufficient grounds yet if the lack of pantents is true). They probably both want to avoid a law suit similar to how both you and the biker would get (temporarily) kicked out of the bar for fighting. It'll both cost them time and money that is better spent elsewhere.

40 minutes ago, poochyena said:

What is a "sideplate" and what is a "darkplate"? I read the reddit page and some of the articles, but none of that is ever explained so i'm confused what the lawsuit is about...

I thought Dbrand just sold stickers?

They said the skins were a major pain in the ass to apply to the PS5 plates even for them and they didn't cover the entire thing leaving white edges throughout. They concluded us "assholes" (their words not mine ) trying to apply it correctly would destroy too many, causing too much burden on customer support and replacements so they decided not to sell PS5 skins. I guess that's why they decided on selling entire faceplates instead.

[GDRRiley]

1 hour ago, James Evens said:

copyright doesn't need an (design) patent and as those are a clear copies just slightly different color could argue that this is copyright infringement.

The part where Sony would probably lose in Europe if they argue about the mounting as this is technical part and not design so copy right does not apply. After all not a lawyer and these laws are far to complicated for normal people to understand

copyright is about an idea not an object. this maybe would fall under a trademark but its not a character

really sonys got 0 to stand on, Toyota doesn't go suing people because someone made an aftermarket fender or lights.

[JZStudios]

4 hours ago, tikker said:

I think in this analogy the punch has yet to come. So far Sony has only somewhat threatened to sue them (for which they might not have sufficient grounds yet if the lack of pantents is true). They probably both want to avoid a law suit similar to how both you and the biker would get (temporarily) kicked out of the bar for fighting. It'll both cost them time and money that is better spent elsewhere.

Maybe, but they still told Sony to fuck off, Sony said "Let's take this outside" and they just gave up immediately. They're that irritating guy that always talks mad shit about everyone and how tough he is, but gets all flustered and backpedals so hard they set a new reverse land speed record every time someone actually confronts them.

If you're going to talk mad shit, at least actually go through with it.

[tikker]

10 hours ago, JZStudios said:

Maybe, but they still told Sony to fuck off, Sony said "Let's take this outside" and they just gave up immediately. They're that irritating guy that always talks mad shit about everyone and how tough he is, but gets all flustered and backpedals so hard they set a new reverse land speed record every time someone actually confronts them.

If you're going to talk mad shit, at least actually go through with it.

True. I still think Sony has no leg to stand on to "take this outside" , but yeah it would be nice to see dbrand stick to their position especially since (from a quick search) a C&D letter from a lawyer isn't legally binding and just a "please stop" as opposed to a C&D order from a court or other such entity. They're a company after all. Different as they may be, when it comes to money I suspect they'll act like any other company choosing money over losses to legal fees. This reddit reply probably catches the gist of it. It wouldn't surprise me if they indeed can't afford it:

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Well based on the comments in this post, Sony's already gotten exactly the reaction they want. That is, controversy that isn't even in their court.

We all know dBrand asking to be sued would have got them sued. They knew that too. And chances are dBrand doesn't have the capital to take Sony on, so there's no way court will ever happen. Sony has world class lawyers, and dBrand is a small Canadian skin company. They know if they fight this, and lose (which they will, because Sony has world class lawyers and the money to pay them), they won't exist anymore. That's a fact. 150k per unit is no joke, especially if Sony considers each plate sold to be a single unit. Because they will if they can get away with it. Even 1000 sold would probably fold most companies entirely.

Fair play Sony, you didn't even have to lift a finger to take someone out. I'm just going to quietly sit here and want for the Grip to arrive for the iPad mini.

 

[Purzifal]

so much for dbrand not backing down from Sony.

 

They provoked Sony and Sony called their bluff and they backed down "for now", if they where serious about not backing down they would never have pulled the items from sale

[Heliian]

4 minutes ago, CAProjects said:

so much for dbrand not backing down from Sony.

 

They provoked Sony and Sony called their bluff and they backed down "for now", if they where serious about not backing down they would never have pulled the items from sale

Unless Sony and dbrand have some type of agreement in the works. 

[Helpful Tech Witch]

19 hours ago, poochyena said:

What is a "sideplate" and what is a "darkplate"? I read the reddit page and some of the articles, but none of that is ever explained so i'm confused what the lawsuit is about...

I thought Dbrand just sold stickers?

Side plates are the sides of the ps5. Dark plates are the black ones Dbrand  sells.

dbrand sells more than skins, that sell cases as well. Basically all the stuff you can do to customise