DS Flash Cart Importer Jailed

[Logan Westbrook]

DS Flash Cart Importer Jailed

A UK man has been sent to prison after pleading guilty to illegally importing R4 flash carts.

UK resident Yun Can Meng has been sentenced to a year in prison after pleading guilty to illegally importing R4 flash carts into the country. The R4 carts allow pirated material to be played on the DS, as well as much less illegal homebrew content.

Meng was arrested for importing more than 26,000 R4 cards and was caught following a combined effort from the Humberside Police Force, Hull City Council Trading Standards Department, and the Entertainment and Leisure Software Association - or ELSPA's - Crime Unit.

Michael Ralinson, Director General of ELSPA, had this to say on the ruling: "Our crime unit is pleased with the outcome of this trial and pleased to see the Court of Appeal's copyright judgment is being robustly enforced. Intellectual property (IP) theft is an important issue for the country's videogames industry - as is protecting it."

Source: GamePolitics [http://www.gamepolitics.com/2010/01/15/uk-r4-card-importer-sentenced]


Permalink

 

[YoUnG205]

Is his own fault I suppose but a year for that seems a bit harsh.

 

[JRCB]

Yeah, seems a bit harsh.

In other news, why was I not informed that there is a gaming police (essentially)?

 

[TheNamlessGuy]

DELETED

 

[Sir Ollie]

26,000 cards? Christ!

No wonder he got caught.

 

[Trivun]

You know, just before Christmas my mom was asking about R4 cards. I was here in Leeds, she was back home, and she phoned me to ask about them (considering she didn't have a Nintendo console herself until Christmas when my dad got her a Wii, and my DS was with me at university, her reasoning is pretty puzzling...). Anyway, I xplained what they were and where she could get them on the internet (as she wanted to know). I also explained that pirating games is illegal. I still have no idea why she wanted to know any of that info...

 

[GrinningManiac]

*Commandoes smash through Humberside house windows*

FREEZE, MENG, YOU'RE SURROUNDED!

You'll never take me alive, coppah!

DON'T MOVE, HE'S GOT A DS

*Splosions*

 

[LazerFX]

I still think the whole issue of making console 'chipping' and 'modding' a criminal offence is stupid. I'm a developer. I want to write apps for just about everything. I can't write apps for the PS3, or a DS, or the iPhone withing shelling out cash I don't have - so I jailbreak, mod or hack them. Oh - but that makes me a criminal?

Twats. Or, more accurately, "The law is a ass"

 

[slopeslider]

Banning flashcarts because you can pirate games is like banning the internet because you can use it to look at 4chan loli. Forget the totally legit uses lets focus one one 'illegal' aspect of it.
Next they'll ban handguns because you can use them to kill peo.....oh wait....
Next they'll ban knives because you ca.....oh wait...
Next they'll ban Iphone apps that simulate gunfire because they can be used to intimida.... oh wait...
Next they'll ban violent thoughts because they lead to violence.

 

[lacktheknack]

Banning flashcarts because you can pirate games is like banning the internet because you can use it to look at 4chan loli. Forget the totally legit uses lets focus one one 'illegal' aspect of it.
Next they'll ban handguns because you can use them to kill peo.....oh wait....
Next they'll ban knives because you ca.....oh wait...
Next they'll ban Iphone apps that simulate gunfire because they can be used to intimida.... oh wait...
Next they'll ban violent thoughts because they lead to violence.

A. I'm uninitiated, what are the legal uses of flash carts?

B. There has been a couple of requests in Canada to ban long knives- including kitchen knives. So don't hold your breath on any of the others.

 

[the_tramp]

A. I'm uninitiated, what are the legal uses of flash carts?

As Logan said, 'as well as much less illegal homebrew content.' This is the ability to play games that people have made, in addition it also supports emulators so if you own a NES and the appropriate game then you are just playing something that you already own.

 

[slopeslider]

Banning flashcarts because you can pirate games is like banning the internet because you can use it to look at 4chan loli. Forget the totally legit uses lets focus one one 'illegal' aspect of it.
Next they'll ban handguns because you can use them to kill peo.....oh wait....
Next they'll ban knives because you ca.....oh wait...
Next they'll ban Iphone apps that simulate gunfire because they can be used to intimida.... oh wait...
Next they'll ban violent thoughts because they lead to violence.

A. I'm uninitiated, what are the legal uses of flash carts?

B. There has been a couple of requests in Canada to ban long knives- including kitchen knives. So don't hold your breath on any of the others.

Palm pilot ripoff app that lets you schedule dates and set alarms and stuff.
mp3 player
video player with the ds's famously long battery life
Crayon physics
drawing programs
advanced calculators
web browsers
online chat
Music creators
Create your own freeware
and other stuff I don't feel like looking up.

what do you mean by B? I don't really understand the 2nd sentence.

 

[The Kangaroo]

I love the idea of a gaming police

Lackey: We have him surrounded sir
Sargent: Good, move in for the kill
Lackey: Oh god!
Sargent: What is it?
Lackey: The the suspect... he's a haxx0r and... the officers on the scene r... n00bs
Sargent: God help us all

 

[geldonyetich]

Firsthand, my experience with Internet forums in general is that they're predominantly in favor of piracy, and the rights of publishers and content creators be damned. So I honestly expect this thread to go in that direction.

 

[Danzaivar]

I never got the 'Humberside Police Force' thing anymore, they split the counties into Lincolnshire and Yorkshire almost a decade ago, but the police are still Humberside. Baffling.

Didn't know R4 cards were themselves illegal, I thought it was just putting DS-ROM's on them that was a no-no. Government should really do more to highlight when this stuff becomes outlawed or not, you could become a criminal without realising...

 

[SquirrelPants]

Firsthand, my experience with Internet forums in general is that they're predominantly in favor of piracy, and the rights of publishers and content creators be damned. So I honestly expect this thread to go in that direction.

We're pretty anti-piracy around here, mate.


And that's just too bad. I was thinking about buying myself a flash cart recently, because of all the delicious homebrew, but they're actually illegal? ._.

 

[Sneaklemming]

It's a smuggling case, not a pirating case.

They probably knew he was smuggling other stuff too onto the black market, guns/drugs etc. but couldn't get him on that stuff.

 

[Sevre]

Well there's plenty other cards out there, I think Nintendo really dropped the ball when it came to piracy, every DS owner I know in my area has some kind of flash cart.

 

[zombie711]

wait so there not legal in england? but they are in france

 

[Weaver]

Better ban cars since you can run people over with them as well.