Michael Singer
Sony is suing an online retailer in Hong Kong for trying to sell PSP consoles in the UK prior to the official 1 September launch.
Lik-Sang.com said that Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Limited and Sony Computer Entertainment filed the complaint in the High Court of Hong Kong. Sony is asking the court to prevent Pacific Game Technology (the company running Lik-Sang.com) from selling the Sony PlayStation Portable, as well as game cartridges and accessories, to customers in Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and the UK.
Sony is also asking for monetary damages. It claims Lik-Sang.com violated its copyrights in early June after Lik-Sang.com mirrored the PSP manual on its Web site, Lik-Sang.com said.
Sony has been cracking down on companies that participate in the underground sale of its products, even to the point of allegedly asking online stores for customer information to track PSP shipments in the UK.
In June, Sony won an injuncton to halt a one-man retailer called ElectricBirdLand in Britain.
UK customers clamouring for the consoles have been turning to online retailers to fulfill their gaming needs, often paying $100 (about £55) more than the $250 US price to get their hands on one.
The PSP, which can also play MP3s and movies, is already on sale in Japan and the US. Shipments into the UK were delayed by about six months to make sure the company had enough for its US launch.
Sony UK warned Lik-Sang.com back on 14 June that it would take legal action if the manual and any hypertext links to Sony's Web site were not removed, the retailer said. Lik-Sang.com said it complied with Sony's request but is still shocked by Sony's continued legal actions calling it the "most aggressive move against its own customers that a console manufacturer has ever taken in the 30 year history of videogames."
Lik-Sang.com said it is looking at its own legal options to combat Sony's lawsuit.
A representative from Sony UK was not immediately available for comment.
This is the second time that Sony has pressed charges against Lik-Sang.com. The Japanese electronics giant sued the Honk Kong retailer for copyright infringement in 2002 in an attempt to stop Lik-Sang.com from selling unauthorised hardware modifications for the Sony PlayStation 2.
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