Lik-Sang closes doors

[Ex-Cyber]

"Lik-Sang did not contest this case (i.e. they did not turn up and therefore incurred no legal costs). We have been awarded substantial costs against Lik-Sang which have not been paid," the statement claims.

How is that not Sony's doing? They sued Lik-Sang, Lik-Sang couldn't afford to hire lawyers, therefore Sony won a large sum of money by default. How can Sony even claim they had nothing to do with it after making a statement like that?

Sony's logic seems to be something like "they decided to close down rather than fight in court, as a deliberate effort to make us look bad, so it's their fault that they're closing".

[ASCIIN]

this is gay, now we loose a good import store over a failing portable.....

[cube_b3]

This may be also a bad news for DC homebrew commercial games.
Lik-Sang offered free shipping where as GOAT Store did not.

[Quzar]

I really don't get this though. As far as I know, there is no way that lik-sang would have been forced to pay anything. If they had just ignored Sony (which it seems like they did), where's the problem?

I could see maybe the inability to ship to the uk anymore, but past that I don't see how the high court of london has any say in what a hong kong based company does (last time i checked the brits didn't own it anymore...).

The whole thing makes no sense. I imagine them just changing their name and starting over.

[DaMadFiddler]

It seems like there's something more going on than meets the eye, if Lik-Sang closed up shop rather than just stopped carrying PSP stuff...but I have a lot more respect for Lik-Sang than I do for Sony at this point. I've dealt with them more, and I've had a more positive experience with them as a company.

There's definitely something odd going on with both sides. From what I understand, the UK court doesn't have any legal jurisdiction over Lik-Sang, which only has offices in Hong Kong. So, from what I gather, Lik-Sang ignored the case as irrelevant. Didn't hire representation, and didn't pay the awarded damages.

This leads me to question why they had to close, as opposed to simply halting PSP sales, or stop selling to the UK...or, perhaps, even ignoring the ruling until a relevant court passed judgement. Something seems off...though I am more likely to side with Lik-Sang on the issue, since I've dealt with them more, and I've had a more positive experience with them as a company.

And I believe that Sony is *absolutely* in the wrong over this...they're exploiting the fact that many judges are not familiar with the high-tech industry. Not only was Lik-Sang's activity not harmful to Sony's business, it was not illegal (at least, in my admittedly limited understanding of international trade), and attacking import business just seems foolhardy...especially for a company facing as many financial challenges as Sony is right now.

On a further note, Sony's argument is basically that a retailer cannot sell Sony products internationally, on the grounds of some hazy "intellectual rights" claim. The whole argument is based on Sony claiming that a company has complete rights to govern what exactly is done with its products, even after they have sold it.

In simplified terms, this is all part of a global attitude shift in the corporate realm towards consumer licensing replacing consumer ownership, and that is a VERY dangerous and undesirable route to be headed down. You will not own the things you "buy." You will not be buying them, directly; you will be buying a license to USE them, in the specific and limited terms laid out by the company that created them.

The people who import are the hardcore gamers, who follow the news and know what's coming out in other places. And if they want something, they're going to want it regardless. Cut off the avenue for legitimate sales, and you're only encouraging piracy. Sure the importers are a very small segment of the market, but "some sales" are better than "no sales," which is what they'll be getting if people start pirating all those import games because they no longer have a place to buy them.

Hardware importing is a little bit tricky in terms of benefits vs. detriments for the product maker, and I can see why many businesses would not be thrilled with it...but again, it is still sales their legitimate products, which they still received income from. As stated before, people who import are the hardcore gamers, and they understand full well what they're getting into. Sony's statement in that regard is beyond ludicrous, especially since Lik-Sang goes out of their way to include region-appropriate adapters.

[Strapping Scherzo]

I know what you're saying, Fidler. But then I remembered that Lik-Sang in based in Hong Kong which was, until quite recently, British owned. Even though China now governs Hong Kong again, I bet there are still lots of things regarding trade and commerce that are still affected greatly by Britian. That's my guess.

[ace]

Thank you BILAL_XIA. You said that nearly an hour ago.

[|darc|]

Thank you BILAL_XIA. You said that nearly an hour ago.

I removed the post already.

meh, I don't import.

Neither do I, but you have to respect that Lik-Sang was a staple in the gaming community.

[mankrip]

I have a lot more respect for Lik-Sang than I do for Sony at this point. I've dealt with them more, and I've had a more positive experience with them as a company.

(...)

I am more likely to side with Lik-Sang on the issue, since I've dealt with them more, and I've had a more positive experience with them as a company.

That's what I would call "the embryo of a double post" .

[DaMadFiddler]

...whoops. That post started out as a few excerpts from a conversation I had with Quzar, which I then cleaned up and built around. I guess I used that part twice

[butters]

Actually, since Lik-Sang never payed Sony a dime, I don't see how they can cast blame on them. Sounds to me like they are closing down to avoid having to pay the suit (if it is even valid).

[DaMadFiddler]

As far as people (like Quzar) citing trade agreements that various corporations have made with one another as reason for this...well, if a third party (like Lik-Sang) finds a way around how you want your product managed, tough shit. That's not law.

Here's a great comment I found in the user comments from the Joystiq thread:

Lik-sang wasnt doing anything illegal, and could have probably won with maybe some small changes to their website (removing any Sony logos or other properties). As a vendor, you can sell whatever the hell you want to sell. If i go get my vendors license, i can buy a bunch of PS3s from anywhere and go resell them. Just as I can go buy a bunch of toliet paper or Bottled water, etc and resell it. Unless it is regulated specially by the government because of danger to the consumer (like medical supplies, etc). Sony is trying to say what Lik-sang is doing is dangrous to the consumer[2].

"Authorized Dealer" only means that Sony sells to that dealer at wholesale prices AND Sony does not have to honor warrenties from products bought from un-Authorized Dealers, etc. It has zero to do with legally being able to sell anything.

It looks like lik-sang saw the writing on the wall...Sony was going to sue them into oblivion (which they have fought in the past[1]), so they took their profits and folded early, instead of fighting and spending large amounts of money (which they probably dont have) just to prove their right to sell. Smart move. This is pretty bad for the import industry though, as this shows Sony (as well as Nintendo and Microsoft) that they can easily shut down these small shops...bad news.

References:
[1]For those with short memories, here are some past info
http://arstechnica.com/journals/thumbs.ars/2005/8/9/910
http://www.lik-sang.com/news.php?artc=2707

[2]From sony: "ultimately, we're trying to protect consumers from being sold hardware that does not conform to strict EU or UK consumer safety standards, due to voltage supply differences et cetera; is not - in PS3's case - backwards compatible with either PS1 or PS2 software; will not play European Blu-Ray movies or DVDs; and will not be covered by warranty".

Basically sony is trying some special pleading, saying that its dangrous for un-authorized dealers to sell these things because the consumer may be mislead or something.....pretty dirty pool

[greay]

Actually, since Lik-Sang never payed Sony a dime, I don't see how they can cast blame on them. Sounds to me like they are closing down to avoid having to pay the suit (if it is even valid).

Although the Sony quote only referenced one suit, the article about the closure mentioned multiple suits. But even if that was the case for these other suits, just because they didn't go to court doesn't mean they didn't incur legal fees. There's still probably legal councel involved.

[TyBO]

Damn... Lik-Sang was such a great online store. They offered some products that were nearly impossible to find elsewhere (like the SmartJoy FRAG for Xbox, a slew of converters/adapters/etc, not to mention import games) They will certainly be missed.

Some good did come out of this news though, and that's the incredibly large amount of Sony bashing I've seen on the web today. OK, it might not be good for Sony fans, but I personally think they deserve all the bad press they can get for bullying a company with legal fees that was behaving within the law all along.

[impetus]

You know, I've hated Sony for a while now, but this just infuriates me. Fuck those guys. First bleem!, now Lik-Sang. This is ridiculous. ARRRRRGHH.

Agreed 100%.

[DaMadFiddler]

There is a am ever buying a Sony product again. I've had enough.

[Skynet]

There is a am ever buying a Sony product again. I've had enough.

Thinking that myself, fiddler

This sucks, I was hoping to get a flashcart or something for my DS from lik-sang sometime. A store near my place that does deal with some imports has referred me to lik-sang also, I knew who they were pripr to that but it goes to show how many people know of/use lik-sang.

[Sir Slash]

i think he meant they'll have to give him a ham, if they ever want him to buy a sony product again

[Cyphix]

You know, I've hated Sony for a while now, but this just infuriates me. Fuck those guys. First bleem!, now Lik-Sang. This is ridiculous. ARRRRRGHH.

Agreed 100%.

Indeed.

[Phantom]

I don't really understand it though, Lik-Sang are not under UK law. So what would be the consequence of this court ruling? Lik-Sang packages being intercepted? That seems unlikely.

Maybe this is just Lik-Sang's strategy of fighting back, by generating bad publicity.