Sony sues Hong Kong retailer

Hong Kong-based online retailer Lik-Sang International is being sued by Sony for selling PSP systems to UK consumers in advance of the system's European launch, the retailer announced today.

This is neither the first time Sony has brought legal action against a retailer for selling foreign PSPs to Brits (Lik-Sang joins UK-based retailers ElectricBirdLand and Nuplayer Ltd. in that regard) nor the first time Lik-Sang has run afoul of console makers in the High Court of Hong Kong. Cases brought against the retailer by Sony and Nintendo in 2003 ended with an out-of-court settlement and judgment for the plaintiff, respectively. The year prior, a case brought against the company jointly by Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft shut its online operations down for three weeks and resulted in the company pulling mod chips, backup systems, and other such devices from its product lineup.

Sony is also asking for monetary damages. It claims Lik-Sang.com violated its copyrights in early June after Lik-Sang.com mirrored the PSP manual on its Web site.

While Lik-Sang hasn't had the best of fortunes in combating these suits in the past, the company's statement indicates a confidence that it will beat the rap this time.

"This lawsuit comes as a total surprise to Lik-Sang.com, given that the laws of Hong Kong are clear when it comes to parallel trade. Hong Kong's legislation is based on the fact that allowing parallel and free trade will restore natural competition and benefit consumers with lower prices. Hong Kong, one of the pioneering countries respecting worldwide exhaustion of trademark rights, allows free trade once an item enters the market for sale."

For now, Lik-Sang continues to sell PSP systems and ships them worldwide.