Channeltechnology loses in court - forts.

The Defendants in the case were NEO TECHNOLOGIES (1st and 2nd), and CHANNEL TECHNOLOGY (3rd), it was presented to Judge Jacob that NEO had submitted to summary Judgment and therefore was not an issue to be dealt with by the court, but CHANNEL TECHNOLOGY had resisted summary judgment and therefore a case against CHANNEL TECHNOLOGY must be argued.
The outcome of the summary judgment against CHANNEL TECHNOLOGY was an order of various limitations of which an affidavit must be made, and also the following costs:
LEGAL FEE'S: £45,000 (after discount)
DAMAGES: £15,000 (on the basis of supplied upgrades)
It is unknown as to the restrictions or financial penalties imposed upon NEO
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PERSONAL STATEMENT OF 'GAZZA'
This was an untested area of law in the UK, and Channel Technology resisted summary judgment on the basis of the legal functions that could be gained from such as device as the Messiah. The decision gained in Sony's favor is obviously correct, Channel Technology does not deny that the device could be used for the use of illegal games, and did not contest this matter at any time, it simply made argument on technical matters in respect-of. The fact that Sony sells CD-Recording devices is obviously a similar argument, for any company to deny knowledge that it's equipment could be used for illegal purposes would be farcical, and indeed, CD-Recorders are the root of CD based piracy. However, companies selling such devices are not under the scrutiny of the CDPA 1988 in respect of circumvention (unless possibly selling software or hardware capable of by-passing protection systems implemented on original media) and therefore are afforded the right to do so. Channel Technology has been at the forefront of upgrade design, working in conjunction with colleagues to bring forward technical innovations for many years, the business has enjoyed a prosperous existence, therefore it must be thankful to Sony for providing this opportunity.
As the proprietor of the business, I must be honest that being involved with this aspect over the years has afforded me a comfortable living, I walk away from this without any ill-feelings towards Sony whatsoever. It can be difficult to weigh your balance of morals when satisfying so many customers and receiving such rewards, you live on the basis of 'enjoy it while it lasts', and it surely has lasted longer than expected !
I wish to thank Julian Midgly and his colleague Martin of Eurorights.org for attending the high courts and providing a substantial amount of advice, it was an interesting case and everyone learned a lot from it.
It's the end of an era ?
I personally think it's the beginning of a new era, a new war, Channel Technology and Neo being the first casualties, there will be many more to come !
Thanks to everyone's support over the years, we hope we have made many people happy,
but if your in the same line of business, re-think your strategies, Judge Jacob is severely unforgiving :-) !
GAZZA
www.channeltechnology.com