Mr Modchips – UK Pirate Faces Jail And £1 Million Fine

[P.C.Paul]

Mr Modchips – UK Pirate Faces Jail And £1 Million Fine
Poor Mr Modchips, seems to have moved to Thailand
25 Oct 2007

A Bristol-based console 'Chipper' who has made in excess of £1 million from flogging dodgy console chips online has been convicted in what ELSPA’s anti-piracy unit is calling a landmark crown court hearing.

'Mr Modchips' is the second person in UK to be convicted in crown court for console chipping offenses.

‘Modchips’ (otherwise known in his Earth identity as 39-year-old Neil Stanley Higgs of Speedwell Road, Bristol) was found guilty at Bristol Crown Court last month of 26 offences under Section 296ZB of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act – which is an amendment to the 1988 act that came into force in 2003 to tackle the burgeoning chipping offences problem.

Higgs was found guilty on counts of advertising, supplying and selling modchips, in addition to being found guilty of 12 counts of possessing chipped games consoles in the course of a business and another 11 counts of possessing ‘Executor’ modchips for Microsoft consoles and Viper GC chip for Nintendo consoles in the course of a business.

He was cleared of a further four counts of possessing chipped consoles in the course of a business as it was shown to the court that these were owned by friends and family (a “bit ‘o’ personal”, as the drug dealer would have it!). He originally claimed all nineteen chipped consoles were owned by friends and family, but it seems that the judge wasn’t having any of that.

Higgs’ business premises (his parents' flat!) were raided by police and Bristol City Council’s Trading Standards after ELSPA (the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association) investigators unearthed illegal chips and modification equipment being sold through his website at www.mrmodchips.com.

The raid was one of three carried out at the time by three Trading Standards teams simultaneously under the moniker ‘Operation Barnet’.

Michael Rawlinson, managing director of ELSPA, said, “This case today sets a major precedent which marks a milestone in the fight against piracy, protecting the games industry’s investment in fantastic games. It sends a clear message to anyone tempted to become involved in ‘chipping’ consoles that this is a criminal offence and will be dealt in the strongest possible way. The modification of consoles is an activity that ELSPA’s anti-piracy team is prioritising – it is encouraging to see the UK courts do the same.”

Robin Whittle, Principal Trading Standards Officer for Bristol Trading Standards, said, “This is a very significant result following a complex investigation. The defendant has been running a business of providing the means to get around the copyright protection on games consoles and the jury have clearly recognised this in the guilty verdicts they returned today."

Further court proceedings are imminent and a financial investigation under the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) is underway. It is highly likely that Higgs will face both a custodial sentence at Her Majesty’s Pleasure and have to pay back the whopping great amounts of cash that he has made.

Or will he? Closer investigation unearths the fact that Higgs is seemingly still operating www.mrmodchips.com but from a new address. In Bangkok, Thailand.

Has Higgs done a runner? Or will he return home to face the wrath of ELSPA’s Anti Piracy Unit sometime soon? SPOnG will be the first to let you know.

GOOD LUCK IN THAILAND !!!!
His site is closed at present shows back by 1st december

 

[Jooooles]

Intresting read wish him good luck

 

[jay 210]

sad to here ...site is down
h**p://mrmodchips.com/maintenance.htm

 

[thommohawk]

lol at least he wont have to wait for the chips to turn up now via airmail, he,ll just bob down the road to get them lol.


this crime rates up there with the great train robbery and im glad our fine police and courts where spending our taxes on this, im sure you,ll all agree.

 

[smirnoff_rules]

lm sure his site will be selling copy iphones now

 

[pks00]

Do you think they got details of all people that purchased from the site and will they be chased?
That would be interesting. I doubt they would bother though.

 

[loonpants]

I didn't realise it was illegal to possess a modchip, but I guess the key phrase is "in the course of a business".

 

[digidude]

so if my original wii sports disc gets scratched i have to pay £30 for another one as im prevented from backing up my own legally owned media and blocked from playing the backup if i do manage to make it?

i think MS, nintendo, sony and everyone else should be taken to court

 

[Spikeman]

I think you hit a good point digi - I though the terms of the law were, "providing you own the original you are allowed to make one copy for your own use but you are not allowed to use it on two devices at the same time unless you have paid a licencsing fee for 2 devices"

Of course the Eula changes "Use" to "Install" but the point is the same.

Circumnavigation of in-built code is where the law is aimed primarilly to protect the internal software of the machine.

It woudl be nice to see the water tested but I feel the industry would have a get out though - they will provide a free replacement copy to anyone who shows original proof of purchase when they return their faulty disc. However they may be forced to extend the usual 90 day warranty to a much longer period.

 

[dino123]

that alot of money, do you think he has that much money?
he must have made that much money, put you tend to spend it here and there well i can never save

 

[hawkish]

gutted - especially as those chips are for old consoles - xbox 1 and gamecube

 

[Drunken Master]

so if my original wii sports disc gets scratched i have to pay £30 for another one as im prevented from backing up my own legally owned media and blocked from playing the backup if i do manage to make it?
i think MS, nintendo, sony and everyone else should be taken to court

You are allowed to back-up a disc you own legally, its when you got the back-up and the original goes missing questions are asked!!!

 

[digidude]

You are allowed to back-up a disc you own legally, its when you got the back-up and the original goes missing questions are asked!!!

but i bought the original over a year ago, the kids scratched it beyond repair so i threw it out, my backup is in an original nintendo case with the nintendo license on the reverse

 

[Fuas]

the law on this is complex now. but.

YES you can backup your software incase one of them gets damanged.

BUT.. you can NOT.. imploy any means that will bypass protection in the product.

soo.. if you get a copy of a software that has no protections in it. you can backup for yourself.

if you cannot backup with simple backup tools (disk protection / machine protection etc.) ( serials are ok as your not bypassing protection as its sill present). then its against the law.

modchips are soly designed to bypass detection (cept in the case of xbox 1 mod chips where they allow the user to run unix on the xbox but not allowing them to run copied xbox games. ) so they fall into the cat that there bypassing protection

 

[Drunken Master]

but i bought the original over a year ago, the kids scratched it beyond repair so i threw it out, my backup is in an original nintendo case with the nintendo license on the reverse

For future dvds/cds keep the original even if its beyond use!!! Whats not to say the case was picked up from a shelf at gamezone or somewhere!

 

[bignbold3000]

mates...........buy the original, make a backup and when the kids are sick and tired of the game and its scratched to hell..........take the perfect original to game or other similiar type stores and swap-out for another game...........simple

 

[elite786]

been away for a a very long time and just catching up. its a shame they got him! ordered many times from them and i also had a trade account with them. top bloke, good service! weather he actually made a million is debatable as they always blow things out of proportion to justify there actions! just checked the website and it sais back soon, i certainly hope so!!!

good luck mate!