Lik-Sang.com shut down by Sony lawsuits

Dear Lik-Sang.com,

We hear your recent legal spat with Sony Computer Entertainment has ended your long and glorious run as grey market importer of choice, sapping both your resources and potential revenue streams. You were always there for us when we needed a DS lite before it hit the States, or a Japan-only karaoke-based cooking game that might've otherwise never made its way into our hands, and we're sorry to see you taken down by "The Empire" in such a dramatic fashion. If it's any consolation, it looks like the very Sony Europe execs that just busted you for supposedly infringing on their "trade marks, copyright and registered design rights," won't be able to import whatever fancy consoles Sony Japan busts out next, since most of 'em got their PSPs via you last time around. But of course, Europeans really "don't mind" waiting for Sony products, so maybe the point is moot. Anyways, you will be missed Lik-Sang, but never forgotten -- also, would you mind hooking us up with some Pokemon Diamond on your way out?

Thanks,
Engadget

[Thanks, Mark A.]

[Jeff @ Oct 24th 2006 12:24PM]

Sad to hear it - they also had unique products - not just private mod chips.

[Jeff @ Oct 24th 2006 12:24PM]

^^ Sorry - I meant "pirate" not "private"

[Richard @ Oct 24th 2006 12:27PM]

What a shame that the greedy mega-corps managed to shut down another company providing a unique (and WANTED) service to consumers.

Yet another reason to NOT buy a PS3.

[Jake @ Oct 24th 2006 12:53PM]

"What a shame that the greedy mega-corps managed to shut down another company providing a unique (and WANTED) service to consumers."

I'd like to throw in the word "illegal" after "..WANTED)" if you don't mind. I would expect any business that has such a huge world-wide market to do the same.

And... although I'm a big a fan of Lik-Sang, they kind of brought this on themselves. They've known that Sony was going to take action for some time now. They could have worked out a deal with hardware sales or something. In the battle of small businesses and mega corporations, the little guys will never get everything they want. They have to be willing to negotiate and give up certain things to stay afloat. That really sucks, but it's true in just about every facet of life.

[Porsche 911 @ Oct 24th 2006 2:15PM]

Are you a twelve years old, or do you not think before you speak? �Yet another reason to NOT buy a PS3�. What does Sony shutting down a company that makes illegal products deals with not buying a PS3? It is like me saying, Windows sucks so let us not buy an XBox360. BTW, I have an Xbox360 and I preordered a PS3.

[Danny @ Oct 24th 2006 12:29PM]

Thanks sony, as you know we dont mind waiting for our consoles. We also only ever want to play the games you release here in the UK and never want to try the offerings from Japan. So Lik-sang going out of buisiness really is good, your protecting us...

STFU!!! You really hate us europeans dont you, not only do you delay but take away any chance we have of getting a console early.

We can make up our own mind. As you fully know the consoles you sell in the States or Japan are the same 100% as the UK ones you will eventually sell (and have no stock of). Telling some old judge in the UK that you are worried about imported consoles being unsafe is rubbish, he should have slapped you for selling dangerous consoles.

Well, one good thing came out of it, your now screwed for getting your imports yourself. Obviously sony arnt giving out the freebies so well done.

Everyone give them a round of applause for being such big bullys.

Time to sue the ebayers next, how about the internet in general?

[Mike D @ Oct 24th 2006 12:30PM]

Lik-Sang has not sold modchips for a long time, that stopped a while back after another lawsuit. This is truly disappointing and just goes to show that Sony is a bunch of assholes, plain and simple. I hope the PS3 is a miserable failure.

[George @ Oct 24th 2006 12:34PM]

screw sony, you know all these corporations are greedy but sony is the worst. With their storage formats they release all of which failed. Remember they created memory sticks which only they use,blu ray,you can throw um in their kind of,md players and probably other formats that failed. The thing i dont get is i didnt see lik-sang selling as much as other companies are selling. Also this wont stop the problem of piracy as another company will pop up and take its place. Its not going to help one bit!

[Trevsweb @ Oct 24th 2006 12:37PM]

Heres a well desirved middle finger to Sony. Breaking up a well used and valuable asset to the gaming community. all the more reason to not buy Sony.

[Obvious @ Oct 24th 2006 12:40PM]

That's it; officially boycotting Sony for their dumbass actions. Someone PLEASE slap some sense into the management...!

[jygsaw @ Oct 24th 2006 12:42PM]

Huh? Lik-Sang got shutdown? But I can still access their website. Do you mean to say that I can't order from them anymore? Or just no PS3 pre-orders? Clarify.

[Terry Lavenstein @ Oct 30th 2006 8:05AM]

you're an idiot! Read the article.

[jygsaw @ Oct 24th 2006 12:43PM]

Umm, nevermind, I see the the announcement on their site. Ignore my previous post.

[JinKazama @ Oct 24th 2006 12:46PM]

As a businessman I understand fully why Sony did what they did. As a gamer I am sorry to see Lik-Sang go.

Let's face facts though they were a black/grey market company that skirted trade laws. While Sony will take the blame for this in tech circles...Nintendo, MS, and countless other electronic manufacturers will reap the benefits also without the bad PR.

[Billy @ Oct 24th 2006 12:46PM]

How retarded, I only ever used LikSang twice (both for legal products, just game imports), it was a great resource that no other company provides. FU, Sony. I hope you, along with Blu-ray and the PS3, burn in hell.

[Ryan @ Oct 24th 2006 12:49PM]

Chalk me up as one more consumer completely fed up with Sony *forever*.

(Boycott Sony)

[Mikami @ Oct 24th 2006 12:50PM]

I'm not buying a PS3 and never intended to. However, this one article and action taken by Sony has infuriated me beyond comprehension. Lik-Sang was/is a brilliant site, and on a numerous amount of times I've imported from them into the UK. They provide an excellent service and the products are always delivered in a safe and efficient manor. This outcry of "Strict EU or UK consumer safety standards", is ridiculous, it truly is.

Lik-Sang provide the correct adapters for any of its exported consoles/handhelds and they ARE accepted by the UK/EU standards. I have about three of them.

As for the PS3, most people who would of ordered from Lik-Sang would of seen a notice if any of the products may be under privileged in any sense, therefore never Kansas-shuffling the customer into losing out on an 'essential' feature.

What a horrible, horrible monster Sony are turning into. RIP Lik-Sang. I'll hold onto my space invader keychain forever.

[Ashley Allen @ Oct 24th 2006 12:52PM]

I remember when Sony used to be a mark of quality. Now when I here the name Sony I think unreliable, unplanned and overly expensive products and customer service that comprises of lies and greed.

I don't think Sony are going to understand how peeved everyone is at them until someone organises a boycott.

[MR @ Oct 24th 2006 12:59PM]

Can't say I'm boycotting Sony since I've just spent $$$$ for its LCD TV. But I'm less inclined to buy a PS3 now. Haven't they got enough bad press already lately? What the hell are they thinking using the "protect consumers" card when they're actually hurting us? F*** the safety standards, too. People carry them everywhere. If they're safe in Asia/America, they better be considered safe everywhere else or they have to admit making super crappy sh*t.

[Vanillacide @ Oct 24th 2006 1:02PM]

Grey importing is not illegal, Sony got Lik-Sang, on copyright infringement.

I wonder how long it is before Sony go for grey-imported Blu-ray players -- twice the price in Europe as USA -- and Blu-ray discs too. Sure they don't want a repeat of the DVD market, with lots of people buying discs from outside their "region".

[lemmiwinks @ Oct 24th 2006 1:04PM]

Just received from Lik Sang:

Dear valued customer,

unfortunately, Lik Sang is forced to close its virtual doors for good. This
comes as a consequence of the several legal actions brought on us by Sony.
For more information on the situation, please point your browser to the
following link:

http://www.lik-sang.com/news.php?artc=3901

Therefore, as soon as humanly possible, we will cancel all existing orders,
including yours, and issue refunds where necessary.

Please note that it may take anywhere from a few days up to a week or two
for refunds to be processed by PayPal, your bank or your credit card
company, so please don't worry if you don't see it immediately on your
balance statement. You can rest assured that Lik-Sang is monitoring the
situation closely with all involved parties. No single customer will be
caught in the crossfire of this ordeal.

We are sorry to have to go, and we wish to thank you sincerely your support
over the past decade.

Warm regards and a big THANK YOU from the entire Hong Kong crew.

Team Lik-Sang

[Jamie @ Oct 24th 2006 1:06PM]

And in the middle of the night was a whisper on the wind... that glorious word "Backhander".

Seriously, how is importing Sony gear copyright infringement - it's still Sony made and therefore bought from them. Yet another greedy corporation screwing over consumers in favour of a greater pofit margin.

[Richard Vialoux @ Oct 24th 2006 1:07PM]

OH MY GOD I F*CKING HATE SONY

[eric @ Oct 24th 2006 1:08PM]

sony is starting to turn into a big bully , who cares if some top geeks have a ps3 its kids & teens that make up the numbers in the end & they will wait.

i was thinking about buying the ps3 but the delay after delay & price range sucks this was the final nail in the coffin of that idea.

[Contra666 @ Oct 24th 2006 1:11PM]

This is a sad loss. Lik-Sang imported many accessories that manufacturers would have no way of supplying to worldwide customers (hmm like Sony really).

[Brendan @ Oct 24th 2006 1:14PM]

Lik-Sang isn't admitting they did anything wrong. They lack the funds to compete with Sony's legal gangraping. I wish I could say I was going to boycott them, but I already have after their rootkit CDs. Buy Sony and you'll get more than you pay for... sometimes WAY more. More trouble. More headaches. More DRM.

[scooterbaga @ Oct 24th 2006 1:17PM]

Here's a digg "article" that just happens to link directly to www.sony.com. Get it?

http://digg.com/gaming_news/US_to_be_2_million_short_of_PS3s

[Emo @ Oct 24th 2006 1:17PM]

I wouldn't have my sweet DS case if it weren't for Lik-Sang. RIP.

I've been boycotting Sony since the rootkit scandal, this is just another fun note to add to their list.

[Daniel @ Oct 24th 2006 1:27PM]

Why not inform Sony of how you feel as a customer?

http://www.sony-europe.com/view/ShowArticle.action?section=en_EU_Press&articlesection=19&article=1061464968278&site=odw_en_EU

I'm sure the PR people would love to hear from enraged customers?

[0_0 @ Oct 24th 2006 1:35PM]

Here are the email addresses for the Sony Pan-European press contacts:

Shusuke.Kanai [at] eu.sony [dot] com
press [at] eu.sony [dot] com

Tell 'em what you think!

[slyecho @ Oct 24th 2006 1:28PM]

Well there's always http://www.play-asia.com/ and their service is better too. But on the other hand, Lik-sang had free worldwide shipping on all games. (They wouldn't send me a DS lite though, that's why Play-Asia is better, 'cause they did.)

[Earl @ Oct 24th 2006 1:30PM]

I remeber when I got my Gamecube component cables from Lik-Sang. No other way to get them in the US, I even tried my local import gaming store. Was that illegal? Doubt it. I wish they had the funds to fight Sony. I was looking forward to the PS3, not anymore now. Probably for the better since I bet the quality will be lacking, don't want my living room in flames.
:P

[Vizion @ Oct 24th 2006 1:32PM]

Most of the people here who are bashing sony would be failures at running a company. The truth is Lik Sang was a great place, but also a place that violated some laws. Is it not Sony or any other companie's right to file a lawsuit against such actions? Why didn't Lik-Sang go to court with them or pay a settlement? Lik-Sang has been getting sued by many companies over the last decaade not just Sony.

[Crum @ Oct 24th 2006 1:32PM]

I hope PS3 will fail sooooooooooooooo ugly!!!!!

it would make the entire Sony co. go bankrupt!!!

GOD please help.. teach Sony some bitter lesson.

please make them go bankrupt.

[Bill @ Oct 24th 2006 1:36PM]

I like how Lik-Sang in their announcement casually threw in a laundry list of Sony execs who happened to purchase gear from them, I wonder if Sony will get mad at them for "fraternizing with the enemy (you know, the enemy that buys our consoles and completely legally exports them)".

I was seriously considering ordering Pokemon Diamond from them about a week ago, I guess I'm glad I didn't, because it probably would have been cancelled. A shame, since it was always a great source for Japan-only games and other stuff. Maybe a miracle will happen, Sony will eat shit and die, and they'll be able to come back as a new company. Of course, that'll be about the time when pigs fly...

[Shadow @ Oct 24th 2006 1:41PM]

Sony, you suck,no; thats not enough, you really suck, badly.... WTF are you doing shutting down a business over something that trivial... Its like a handicapped person shutting down restaurant for a lack of wheelchair access, and that restaurant offers other methods of service, such as coming to you for services...

This is truly a low blow sony, I wont even acknowledge your company with a capital letter...

This is truly a sad year for Sony..
Forgive me if it seems I am completely biased, ill try to keep this to facts:
Sony has had so many problems with their stuff this year:
- Dell, and Apple, and a few other companies using sony laptop batteries have caused one of the biggest battery recalls in the world...
- The PS3, is bloody expensive, and on top of that, there is ab out 400,000 units being produced (this one needs double checking)
- Blu-Ray has its rival, HD-DVD...

NOT good PR for sony...

[blackout @ Oct 24th 2006 1:42PM]

boycotting sony.

[Vizion @ Oct 24th 2006 1:46PM]

Shadow that analogy was poor.

Also for the whiners: http://www.play-asia.com/

[Vanillacide @ Oct 24th 2006 1:50PM]

Vizion: I run quite a successful company, but like Gadgets. :)

You said "place that violated some laws", but that's simply not true. There is nothing wrong with grey-importing and precidents have been set in English courts before (e.g. Levi jeans and Tesco).

However, Sony's legal team managed to get Lik-Sang on a copyright issue that is pretty bogus, and they convinced the judge it was "consumer safety" that was the issue.

Lik-Sang have obviously closed their doors because they know that Sony will simply keep up the legal attacks on trivial issues because they know they can't get them on grey-importing (BECAUSE IT IS PERFECTLY LEGAL).

If I was Play-Asian I'd be worried.

If I was PlayUSA.com, MovieTyme.com, DVDPacific.com or any other retailer who grey-imports and sells Blu-ray 'Region A' to Europe I would also be worried.

[Adrian Saunders @ Oct 24th 2006 1:51PM]

OMFG can Sony just die!? They just keep findings ways to steal from other smaller companies and rape their consumers. Hopefully the combination of their horribly flawed batteries and the PS3 bankrupts them. But... since most people are dumb and ignorant, I am sure that Sony's gut will only grow fat with the glut of cash their mindless fanboys will provide.

[Andir3.0 @ Oct 24th 2006 1:53PM]

Lol, a bunch of whiney ass kids that don't even know that Lik-Sang was sued for cpyright infringment. If they would have followed the rules like a good little company, this would have never happened. Again, the blame is put on Sony. Why? I have no clue.

I say, Go Sony!

(anyone taking bets on how fast this comment get's lowest ranked?)

[I, Robot @ Oct 25th 2006 8:01PM]

@Andir3.0
No, but I will take bets on how fast it will take for everyone KNOW you’re an idiot.

[Jason @ Oct 28th 2006 1:52AM]

"Lol, a bunch of whiney ass kids that don't even know that Lik-Sang was sued for cpyright infringment. If they would have followed the rules like a good little company, this would have never happened. Again, the blame is put on Sony. Why? I have no clue.

I say, Go Sony!"

And what happens when Sony doesn't play by the rules? Lets say they go and install worse-than-a-virus malware in millions of peoples computers; Sony gets a slap on the wrist that is hardly a dent to a mega-corporation like it is.

Sony knows it can get away with bullying Lik-Sang because most mainstream customers have never heard of it. If Lik Sang were a huge company with money to burn on lawsuits, this legal hasseling would've either never happened or Lik Sang would've been equipped to fight it and probably gotten a favorable ruling.
Also, you seem to confuse what's right with what's legal. Sony has proven time and again that right != legal.

[TheGuyNextDoor @ Oct 24th 2006 1:58PM]

hahahaha

People still spewing the old "I'm boycotting Sony" crap. Good luck with that.

Lik-Sang broke the law. Sony were legally the victims. As a European, I hate that we get left til last and people have felt the need to resort to grey imports, but as a businessman, I wholeheartedly understand what Sony have had to do. Just because Sony are a large company doesn't mean they cannot be protected by international trade laws like any other company.

[Chris @ Oct 24th 2006 2:03PM]

It has nothing to do with copyright issues and everything to do with Sony shafting the European gamers IMO.
If thats not the case then can someone actually explain to me why we are not seeing a single console until 2007? Or why Sony have just closed off one of the grey importers?
Nope, didnt think so, Sony dont give a crap about you in Europe so why buy their products (unless you like the idea of keeping your hands warm with the toasty battery inside that PS3 controller :) )

[Vanillacide @ Oct 24th 2006 2:14PM]

TheGuyNextDoor + Vizion = same guy. Do you work for Sony's PR?

No matter how many times you say it, doesn't change the fact that grey-importing is perfectly legal.

The copyright infringement was that Lik-Sang used the Sony and PSP names and logos in its advertising and web-site.

[Richard @ Oct 24th 2006 2:22PM]

Hey, Captain Genius:

The point of NOT buying a PS3 is to show Sony that you are so disgusted in their heavy-handed tactics that you won't buy ANY of their products.

Get over yourself.

Oh, and you probably own a Porsche 911 to go along with the 360 and the reserved PS3, right? How's living in mom and dad's basement in Staten Island treating you, anyway?

[KevMa @ Oct 24th 2006 2:17PM]

Wow, you just got pushed off my Holiday list Sony. Matter of fact, I will not be buying a new PS2 to replace my current one that is going out.

Sad to see you turn into such a dick sony.

[Porsche 911 @ Oct 24th 2006 10:19PM]

What the F are you talking about? Stop wining like a little B****. Quit hating you little hillbilly. Oh my god, just because Sony stopped a company from ruining their product/business, that does not mean you should B**** about it. How would you like it if someone tries to F with your business? If you want to B**** about something, then B**** about Microsoft. Stop being racist, just because Sony is foreign that does not mean you need to hate them, you disgust me. Mature up you little preschooler.

[Adrian Saunders @ Oct 24th 2006 2:26PM]

Grey market info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grey_market