Dbrand pulls PS5 "darkplates" from sale entirely then goes on a Twitter rant

[Master Disaster]

Anyone remember Dbrand baiting Sony with the message "go ahead, sue us"? Well they just received a C&D from Sony legal and PS5 darkplates are officially collectors items.... for now at least.

Quote

Earlier this year, Dbrand started selling matte black PS5 side plates that it called Darkplates, and when it did, it baited Sony right on the product’s info page to “Go ahead, sue us.” We got our hands on some, and they look exactly like you expect, making the sides of your PS5 black instead of white. They even have their own tongue-in-cheek take on the PlayStation icon microtexture.

 

As of Saturday, though, you can’t buy Darkplates anymore, as Dbrand has removed them from sale after (perhaps unsurprisingly) receiving a cease and desist letter from Sony. (If you visit the Darkplates site right now, it just shows a list of news articles, including ones from The Verge).

Dbrand are complying with the request but its pretty obvious they have a plan to fight back. I wonder if this was an Epic Apple type situation with Dbrand hoping this would happen just so they could challenge it.

Quote

Sony raises a few grievances in the letter, including taking issue with how the faceplates “replicate SIE’s [Sony Interactive Entertainment] protected product design” and with Dbrand’s versions of the PlayStation icons. Dbrand says the letter was issued earlier this year but didn’t provide an exact timeline as to when.

 

As part of the letter, Sony asked that Dbrand “promptly and permanently cease and take down all marketing and promotion for and cease all sales worldwide of faceplates featuring the product configuration of SIE’s PS5 faceplates or any similar product configuration, including without limitation all faceplates currently for sale at dbrand.com.”

 

Dbrand does not appear to be agreeing to comply with a permanent cease and desist, though. It says it will comply for now.

The company has been on a huge rant over on the /r/dbrand subreddit, you can read it in full here -

And if anyone wants to read the full letter The Verge posted it here - https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/21085950/sony-cd-letter-to-dbrand.pdf

Source - https://www.theverge.com/2021/10/16/22728936/dbrand-pulls-ps5-darkplates-from-sale-sony-threatens-legal-action

 

What the actual fuck. Sony obviously have some kind of proprietary plans for the PS5 faceplates involving licensing and more money for customers but holy hell. Bad move Sony.

[jagdtigger]

IDK how this is even legal if these after market plates do not contain their logo.....

[Lightwreather]

I mean, they were literally asking for it......

Tho I do love customization.

[mr moose]

Next up, Sony's lawyers realize you can put any sticker on the side of a PS5 and are now conflicted over whether to drop the Dbrand case or add every single custom sticker company to it.

[Dabombinable]

6 minutes ago, mr moose said:

Next up, Sony's lawyers realize you can put any sticker on the side of a PS5 and are now conflicted over whether to drop the Dbrand case or add every single custom sticker company to it.

Considering dbrand went out of their way to make sure that none of Sony's trademarks were infringed upon. What Sony is doing would be the same as a car manufacturer suing somebody for making unbranded replacement panels (regardless of material).

[Moonzy]

so, phone company gonna sue phone case makers now? 

[SupaKomputa]

21 minutes ago, Moonzy said:

so, phone company gonna sue phone case makers now? 

Well the plates is not considered the same as a phone case, they actually cloning sony's plate design, which is a problem.

 

[jagdtigger]

3 minutes ago, SupaKomputa said:

Well the plates is not considered the same as a phone case, they actually cloning sony's plate design, which is a problem.

 

I dont think you can get protection for the shape of a plastic piece that is easily removable and replaceable. Just think, if what you wrote is true car manufacturers wouldve killed aftermarket parts a long time ago....

[Master Disaster]

11 minutes ago, jagdtigger said:

I dont think you can get protection for the shape of a plastic piece that is easily removable and replaceable. Just think, if what you wrote is true car manufacturers wouldve killed aftermarket parts a long time ago....

Actually yes you can. There are 3 types of patent you can get, one is totally irrelevant (its about plant species), the other 2 are utility patent and design patent.

 

A utility patent covers the way something operates where as a design patent covers the way something looks. If Sony has both of these in place (or pending) then AFAICT the thing is covered.

#notlegaladvice

 

This is the reason why those guys that tried to make custom plates last year had to change to just doing skins

[Moonzy]

29 minutes ago, jagdtigger said:

I dont think you can get protection for the shape of a plastic piece that is easily removable and replaceable.

you'd be surprise at what corporations are capable of

[Master Disaster]

Just now, Moonzy said:

you'd be surprise at what corporations are capable of

Literally anybody can apply for a design patent, you don't need to be a corporation.

[Moonzy]

1 minute ago, Master Disaster said:

Literally anybody can apply for a design patent, you don't need to be a corporation.

not the capability of applying, but the capability of even making it available to be patented is what i am implying

[Master Disaster]

3 minutes ago, Moonzy said:

not the capability of applying, but the capability of even making it available to be patented is what i am implying

Huh? Patents have been a thing since the 1800s. I'm really not sure what you're saying here.

 

Edit - just for fun, Wikipedia actually lists the first ever granted design patent, it was a font from 1842

 

https://patents.google.com/patent/USD1

[Moonzy]

2 minutes ago, Master Disaster said:

Huh? Patents have been a thing since the 1800s. I'm really not sure what you're saying here.

 

Edit - just for fun, Wikipedia actually lists the first ever granted design patent, it was a font from 1842

 

https://patents.google.com/patent/USD1

i guess, an example would be kind of like how disney kept changing the copyright rules to fit their agenda

[Master Disaster]

Just now, Moonzy said:

i guess, an example would be kind of like how disney kept changing the copyright rules to fit their agenda

Yeah, that's pretty infamous but they didn't change the rules, they only changed the length of time the rules applied.

 

100 years is absolutely stupid.

[SupaKomputa]

10 minutes ago, jagdtigger said:

I dont think you can get protection for the shape of a plastic piece that is easily removable and replaceable. Just think, if what you wrote is true car manufacturers wouldve killed aftermarket parts a long time ago....

The faceplates are an integral part of the PS5, which is copyrighted by sony.

Aftermarket auto parts can also infringed copyright, if they clone it 1:1 without permission, yes, they sued them especially for the big fish. 

[Video Beagle]

2 hours ago, Master Disaster said:

I wonder if this was an Epic Apple type situation with Dbrand hoping this would happen just so they could challenge it.

I've always pictured DBrand as a couple of guys and a tape printer or something, not a company that thinks it can slug it out in court with Sony (Unless they know a major lawyer who's wanting to make some kind of legal history)

[Rohith_Kumar_Sp]

reasons like this are exactly why i made my mission to never buy sony products, remember the M2 SD card?

[Bramimond]

What else is Sony willing to do to ruin their reputation, other than shutting down their Japanese game studios and censoring Japanese games harder than even Nintendo? Maybe they'll raise the price of their console to match scalpers next. "We heard that you are willing to pay $700 for the PS5 and we've listened." lmao. 

[leadeater]

Well.. I'm still not going to buy an Xbox. I wonder what Sony would have to do to make me move away from PlayStation? I like my PlayStations too much lol

[mr moose]

47 minutes ago, Master Disaster said:

Yeah, that's pretty infamous but they didn't change the rules, they only changed the length of time the rules applied.

 

100 years is absolutely stupid.

Gotta say my opinion on this is a bit unique.  I don't have a problem with a company owning a copyright for as long as that company is using said product and it is the original owner.  I have a problem with companies buying music and cartoons from dying/dead/ artists or music labels then ruining it for everyone.  Copyright should be a protection for artwork, not a commodity to trade.

[Roswell]

Sony paid a huge sum to some firm to design the console or spent a bunch of money in-house.

Dbrand then decides to make replica molds for profit… of course they’re going to be sued, and they should be. Get over it or write your local lawmakers to abolish copyright law.

 

This is pretty clear cut infringement…

 

[Arika]

i don't necessarily agree with sony entirely, but dBrand did kind of bring this upon themselves by antagonizing them.

[mr moose]

30 minutes ago, Arika S said:

i don't necessarily agree with sony entirely, but dBrand did kind of bring this upon themselves by antagonizing them.

Even if you are honestly in the right, if you poke the bear you will get scratched.

[suicidalfranco]

eh

Sony playstation died the moment they moved SEC headquarters in the US. Been making garbage, trash, brain dead decision ever since.

imho ever since: Old japanese man thinking >>>>>>> American idiocy

Miss the days when sony had jap studios making fun, interesting, weird, quirky games. Now they're pretty much all the same, just change the story and the paint.

As for the dbrand case: idiotic decision from sony, didn't even have any of sony's logo. What next? C&D on skins that can be applied on any of their toys?

Go after anyone who tries to cosmetically mod their PS?