The ESA, the video game industry's trade body, has announced that a federal court in California has ordered defendants to pay in excess of $9 million in damages for Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) violations, including trafficking of mod chips and a device called HDLoader, which allows copies of games to be downloaded directly onto the hard drive of a game console [PS2].
The ESA reports that the ruling came down on September 11 from Judge Claudia Wilken of the U.S. District Court in Northern District of California. Judge Wilken awarded $3,750,200.00 in damages against corporate defendant Divineo, Inc., and Canadian resident Frederic L. She also awarded $5,791,400.00 in damages against corporate defendants Divineo U.K. and Divineo SARL, and French resident Max L.
