Xbox modders unite in class action suit

Somebody was bound to have a go: Texas-based law firm AbingtonIP is organising a class-action suit against Microsoft over the company's ban on modified Xboxes.

Xbox modders unite in class action suit"Although modification of Xbox consoles is arguably against the terms of use for Xbox/Xbox Live, Microsoft 'conveniently' timed the Xbox console ban to coincide with the release of the new Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 game and less than two months after the release of the very popular Halo 3: ODST game," says the firm.

This "convenient" timing may have resulted in more Xbox Live subscription revenues for Microsoft than it would have generated had these Xbox console bans taken place at some time before the release of Halo 3: ODST and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2."

According to AbingtonIP, Microsoft has also misapplied the ban, locking out users who had modified their Xboxes for reasons other than piracy. It's also been obtaining information from Xbox consoles without the permission of the owner, it claims.

The firm is recruiting plaintiffs, here - it's looking for people who have had their Xbox banned from Xbox Live and who haven't been given a refund for their remaining subscription. It doesn't say how many it's got so far.

See Also:
Microsoft locks out thousands of gamers


william (not verified)

what a bunch of losers. mod at your own risk a**holes.

Becks (not verified)

You Wanna Play..You gotta Pay.. I love listening to all these Whine Bag Boys about being banned. get off your Ass, Get your Head out of the Bong, Make some money and buy legit games. Class Action Suit...Hahahahahahha..your better off
saying your XBox burned you...No body cares why you Moded your Box or cares to listen to your story that you think is unique. Read the Terms of your Contract...or get someone who can read to do it for you.

kiljoy616 (not verified)

Most people here will not get it, but your analogy is a good one, or how about you buy a hammer to be used exclusively with only the companies nails, if you do not use it for that, the hammer will break. Sheep or MS employee what to be
is what is mostly here.

kiljoy616 (not verified)

When would you have done it, greed is greed if you where a top MS executive making tons of money, when would you have done it, haha, poor people should just work that all they are good for. How can poor people think they have the rights
to enjoying them selves, what is this world coming to.

kiljoy616 (not verified)

Your also a child wait till something you care gets you into hot water, trust me it will happen, haha, children should not speak until they are old enough to think for them selves rather than having Preachers and Adults thinking for
them.

huh (not verified)

entire lie. dont stir delusions around here. If you already have to pay for another console to play online, then just get PS3. in a matter of 3 years it will repay itself through saving on online server costs. and if i am correct i think
i was reading here about potential increase of gold live membershit and it was a big debate about it...people were weighing how much more they would pay, and i think general agreement was around $10 a month.

DeeYaa (not verified)

The service has not been cut. The ban has nothing to do with cutting a persons service. Please get it right people. Stop with all of the lying about services being cut.

huh (not verified)

and btw when I buy hardware and I do everything I want to do with it (as you already agreed with me on that point), do you have right to come to MY HOUSE and look around MY POSSESSING without my knowledge ? This time it was Xbox next
time it might be Win7, and hell why not next next time it might be some Saw made by MS (this is of course if Apple starts making them as well)

DeeYaa (not verified)

Once again, the service was not revoked. Their service is still active. They hardware was modified thus does not qualify to use the service. The service can still be used on unmodified hardware thus the service is still active. No need
for any refunds. Microsoft is still providing the service that was paid for. If a person decides not to use the service then they lose out.

DeeYaa (not verified)

They do not ban your gamertag. They ban the modified hardware. You can still use your tag on an unmodified xbox. This has been said many times. You can still use the online service you purchased on an unmodified xbox. Please read the
TOS. The lawsuit is trying to say that Microsoft is asking for an additional Xbox Live subscription fee for hardware that has been banned. That is not true. You can still use the service. Just not on modified banned hardware. This lawsuit is
silly and everyone involved with it will look just as foolish.

DeeYaa (not verified)

You can do anything with the hardware if you want to. You just can not play on the online service they provide if you do. This way they can ensure that everyone on their online service can enjoy their service without any cheaters that
may disrupt a persons only enjoyment.

ModKing (not verified)

I belive they ban your gammer tag, so if you just shelled out $60 for a years membership and it gets banned you CANT reopen it on any console. you just lost $60.

Seamore Butts (not verified)

The FBI would like to help too! They want a list of all the modders and their home addresses to make sure they are treated w/ special care. :D

Paul (not verified)

LOL. Great defense. Yeah, our clients are guilty, but MS picked the optimal time to bust them.

mac (not verified)

Get a ps3, free online play

jhunter2005 (not verified)

you can do anything you want with it, ensuing consequences. I hate cheaters and modders.

Fred (not verified)

"... One of the guys in the electronics dept was explaining to me and my wife how he bough his current x-box on ebay and it is now banned. ..." Caveat Emptor (Let the buyer beware). Microsoft is in no way responsible for your
acquaintance purchasing the modded XBox. He should have done his research before putting his money down for the unit.

facebook-1287335406 (not verified)

You own the hardware outright and can do anything to it you want.

Jeepwidow (not verified)

Moders need to stop complaining. The cat and mouse game will continue! Personally I like the fact moders have been banned. One more reason people need to be able to host their own servers for kick purposes. The amount of people not
abusing the mods is far less than the ones who are (Hacking and piracy).

yahoo-5N3YZAXEJXHAWYAORZHF5BDDAA (not verified)

good, go buy a playstation then

Guest (not verified)

you do relize that the silverlight product from microsoft is just a addon to the already existing flash products like adobes, that and mainly microsoft websites use it. So they wouldnt ban people for using say adobe
flashalso u went from complaining about what microsoft does to the how the 360 is madethe only potential argument that they law firm could make is that they arnt banning silver accounts that mod their xbox,
but in response to that silver accounts to present a danger to the live community by playing cracked games or using hacks during multiply since you can load computer moded hacks on the a mod 360 (atleast im told)

Guest (not verified)

firstly: it doesnt matter whether or not microsoft told or not told the users of the xbox that they were obtaining info, since it is microsofts product they are allowed to, and there is probably something in the ToU about it secondly:
the people that are starting this class action lawsuit should relize that they could have done alot more then just ban the users, they could have had them crimally charged since not only does it violate the ToU but to put the firmware on you are
essentail overwriting the original coding, which could impliment u in having hacked the coding, which in turn violates the copyright on it.... atleast i think

Don (not verified)

A tear in a bucket. Less fag pirates to deal with.

manager2 (not verified)

This action will be difficult since causality is already established against the Xbox gamers. At D L SERVICES INC we are unhappy to see any piracy regarding a product we are marketing. One million sales would be a nice stat for any sales
team.

Me (not verified)

This is funny, and typical. Someone does something to you, and you sue. Even thought when you signed up, you agreed to the terms of service.

Up Yours (not verified)

M$ has a right to ban illegal modders and game crackers

Matty K (not verified)

My 2 Cents. Microsoft and Xbox live have ways to monitor the consoles that connect to its service. If you install any aftermarket fan or hardware they can monitor the voltage increase or decrease and ban you for modified hardware, how is
this obtaining illegal information? The Xbox 360 is setup already to detect modifications or a difference in the original hardware setup. If you submit yourself to their services then you agree to their terms of service and if you happen to break
the rules then you deserve that happened.

twitter-17486808 (not verified)

Was in toys r us last weekend. One of the guys in the electronics dept was explaining to me and my wife how he bough his current x-box on ebay and it is now banned. So he got screwed, he didnt hack it or play priated games he said, Oh
well hope MS gets whats coming on this one.

Brigs (not verified)

Poor criminals. :(

dodtbdm (not verified)

didnt martha stewart get busted for taking her money out the stock market before the shit hit the fan? she was being smart and they screwed her for it. microsoft was being smart too, and they should get busted for that too. in a way the
martha stewart case is similar to the MS case. they were both looking out for the benefit of there company. i play on a 360 elite 120 gig version, i have a ps3 at home for blue ray movies only, which all they are good for. i pay for xbox live
service because it is a lot better than ps3 online, i experience alot of server lag with ps3, but none with my xbox. i use a wireless connection for both, and the 360 is in my room, and the ps3 is in the living room 10 feet away from my wireless
router. so i will still to xbox live simply cuz it is better for me, even using a mic on the ps3 slowed my connection down, you get what you pay for

huh (not verified)

Apparently now you get banned even for playing game without any mods.

franciszek (not verified)

It is pretty simple: mod your system and run the risk of being booted. Everyone that owns an Xbox that has even a modicum of intelligence should know that this is the risk you take if you mod your system. Multivitamins

DeeYaa (not verified)

The DMCA does not provide you with one backup copy if there is protection involved. If there is protection then you can not legally make your legal backup copy that the Fair Use Act allows. Do not get those two confused. The DMCA was
written to stop people from using the Fair Use Act as an argument to make copies. There are groups trying to get the DMCA amended to include one legal backup but those request have been shot down currently.

Your Mom (not verified)

Really? 99.99%? I thought it was 99.78%. Thanks for that statistical information.

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