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Sony Lawsuits Force Lik-Sang To Close

Lik-Sang , the popular gaming retailer based in Hong Kong, has announced their imminent closing due to multiple legal actions brought against them by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Limited and Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc.

The mega-global electronics company claimed that Lik-Sang infringed on trademarks, copyright and registered design rights by selling PSPs from Asia to European customers. Due to this claim brought to the courts, a judgment from the High Court of London deemed Lik-Sang's sales of these PSPs unlawful.

These events hit the retailer hard, and as of today, Lik-Sang.com will no longer be able to accept any new orders and will cancel and refund all existing orders. The crippled company is also working with banks and PayPal to refund any store credits, and the customer support department is handling any open transactions such as pending RMAs, repairs, or shipping-related issues. Lik-Sang has ensured the public that "nobody will get hurt" in the fall-out.

We reported yesterday on the lawsuit, and what a Sony representative said in regards to their actions-

"…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."

Lik-Sang didn't agree with this theory and pointed out that the PSPs they shipped included genuine Sony 100V-240V AC adapters that carry CE and other safety indications and are compatible worldwide. Apparently, they simply claim that all these systems conformed with all EU and UK consumer safety regulations.

As more interesting news regarding the situation, Sony failed to disclose to the court that both the global gaming community (over 100 countries) relied on Lik-Sang for their gaming needs, and even Sony Europe's own top directors continually received their PSP hard or software imports in Lik-Sang parcels with free Lik-Sang mugs or badge holders. And that list of PSP-related Sony Europe orders includes some of the biggest names in the industry: Ray Maguire (Managing Director, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, Ltd.), Alan Duncan (UK Marketing Director Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Ltd), Chris Sorrell (Creative Director, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Ltd), Rob Parkin (Development Director, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Limited), etc.

"Today is Sony Europe victory about PSP, tomorrow is Sony Europe’s ongoing pressure about PlayStation 3. With this precedent set, next week could already be the stage for complaints from Sony America about the same thing, or from other console manufacturers about other consoles to other regions, or even from any publisher about any specific software title to any country they don’t see fit. It’s the beginning of the end… of the World as we know it", stated Pascal Clarysse, formerly known as the Marketing Manager of Lik-Sang.com.

Clearly, this was a heartbreaking blow to the company, and they're not going down without throwing a few final punches.

"Blame it on Sony," Clarysse continued. "That's the latest dark spot in their shameful track record as gaming industry leader. The Empire finally 'won', few dominating retailers from the UK probably will rejoice the news, but everybody else in the gaming world lost something today."