Legal Woes With Sony Shut Down Lik-Sang
October 24, 2006
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Lik-sang, the Hong Kong gaming retailer and video game importer, has been forced to shut down after multiple legal actions were brought against it by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Limited and Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Sony claimed the retailer and importer infringed PSP trade marks, copyright, and registered design rights by selling the handheld from Asia to European customers. Sony recently obtained a judgment in the High Court of London, England, rendering Lik-Sang’s sales of PSP unlawful.
Posted on Lik-Sang’s web site in a press release was the following: “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.”
“Today is Sony Europe[’s] victory about PSP, tomorrow is Sony Europe’s ongoing pressure about PlayStation 3. With this precedent set, next week could already be the stage for complaints from Sony America about the same thing, or from other console manufacturers about other consoles to other regions, or even from any publisher about any specific software title to any country they don’t see fit,” said Pascal Clarysse, former marketing manager of Lik-sang. “Blame it on Sony. That’s the latest dark spot in their shameful track record as gaming industry leader. The Empire finally ‘won’; a few dominating retailers from the UK probably will rejoice the news, but everybody else in the gaming world lost something today.”
