software to execute on the Playstation. Second, software developers could use the devices to test
their own games as a less expensive alternative to purchasing a specialized Sony console that
would run any game. Third, HDLoader made playing games more convenient by allowing users
to avoid having to swap out discs to change games and because the Playstation could read hard
drive data more quickly than data stored on CDs or DVDs. The defendant also gave a legal
notice on its web site warning users that they were responsible for the legality of their own use of
materials obtained through the web site.^846 The defendant also invoked the reverse engineering
defense of Section 1201(f) of the DMCA, arguing that users of mod chips could use them to
ensure the interoperability of an independently created computer program with the Playstation.^847
The court rejected all of these arguments, holding that the challenged devices were
primarily designed for the purpose of circumventing the Playstation authentication system which
otherwise controlled access to software played on the system, and that “downstream customers’
lawful or fair use of circumvention devices does not relieve [defendant] from liability for
trafficking in such devices under the DMCA.”^848 The court also ruled that the defendant’s legal
notice to users of its devices was not relevant to its own liability under the DMCA.^849 The
application of the court’s ruling to the Section 1201(f) interoperability rights is interesting. It
means that, even though it may be permissible to circumvent a technological measure to obtain
information necessary for interoperability of an independently developed computer program, or
for the user of an independently developed computer program to circumvent an access control
measure in order to interoperate with a program controlled by the measure, it is nevertheless
illegal for a third party to sell such user a device that would enable the circumvention, if the
device is designed primarily for circumvention. Another implication of the ruling is that legal
uses that may result after use of a device to accomplish circumvention are not to be factored into
whether the device is primarily designed for circumvention. Under this decision, the DMCA
focuses only on the capability of the device to accomplish circumvention in the first instance,
and if that is its primary technical function, it is illegal.
(iv) Ticketmaster L.L.C. v. RMG Technologies, Inc.In this case, the plaintiff Ticketmaster alleged the defendant had violated Sections
1201(a)(2) and 1201(b)(1) by distributing an automated tool that enabled users (such as ticket
brokers) to access and navigate rapidly through the Ticketmaster site and purchase large
quantities of tickets. The tool enabled users to bypass Ticketmaster’s “CAPTCHA” system, a
security system designed to distinguish between human users and automated programs by
requiring the user to read a distorted sequence of letters and numbers on the screen and enter
those letters and numbers correctly into the system in order to gain access to the ticket purchase
page.^850
(^846) Id. at 961.
(^847) Id. at 965.
(^848) Id.
(^849) Id.
(^850) Ticketmaster L.L.C. v. RMG Technologies, Inc., 507 F. Supp. 2d 1096, 1102, 1111-12 (C.D. Cal. 2007).