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Dbrand pulls its PS5 Darkplates from sale after Sony threatens legal action
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Didn't they dare Sony to sue them?
ID: hgu6aioID: hguqqgaThat basically is their marketing.
They always do these type of marketing stunts. They sold a skin for the Nintendo Switch based on the animal crossing theme, for people who couldn't get one, or already had a regular to decorate it and called it (not) Animal Crossing. I bought it for my gf since she loved it but could never get one since we already have a switch (+ it was sold out everywhere). Their website states:
Is it copyright infringement? Lawyers we paid to say "no" said "no." Lawyers not on our payroll disagree. That's the exact gray area we're counting on to get loads of free lawsuit-related press.
So yea. I mean it's kinda funny watching them, how they do such stuff that's kinda copyright infringement, provoke companies, even tho they know they would lose. But at the same time, it's good for us customers since we get something, we normally couldn't/wouldn't.
ID: hguedy7Earlier this year, Dbrand started selling matte black PS5 side plates that it called Darkplates, and when it did, it baited Sony right on the product’s info page to “Go ahead, sue us.”
Yes
ID: hgv3jub“What are you gonna do? Sue me?”
last words by company sued to death
ID: hgv53d1Quote from man stabbed: “What are you gonna do, stab me?”
ID: hguekb0Sony be like "Ok, I will"
ID: hgu8le7Yea... all an act huh?
ID: hgu645wI can imagine their legal team going “WAIT YOU SAID WHAT???”
ID: hguf2yxThey probably couldn't get an attorney to take the case. lol
ID: hguc5y8Yeah they were pretty cocky. They called Sony's design a "monumental achievement of bad design" and their page talked about them getting a Nobel prize for it. I get that it's a joke but they had a pretty big attitude when all they did was paint/make some black panels and charge 50 bucks for it
ID: hguiijtthey made pretty much near perfect molds of the normal white plates and made them black with their own branding inside. and wait untill you see how much Sony is gonna charge with theirs if you think 50 is alot
ID: hguxftmSo why are they getting sued over a generic black piece of plastic?
ID: hgu8cj8Yes .. lol
ID: hgv9qqeI got a phone cover from them a few years ago and I constantly get edgy emails from them, like "DONT OPEN THIS EMAIL". Well ok then...
ID: hgus66hThis is all a marketing scheme
They make money selling the black plates until Sony threatens to sue them
Then they get 2-3 free days of press talking about Sony suing them
People will get curious and google DBrand (if they didnt know who they were in the first place)
Free advertising!
ID: hgujmkuThey have the cringiest marketing I’ve ever seen. IIRC one time they told a bunch of customers to go fuck themselves or something as a le epic joke, then the actual managers at the company had to come out and apologize
ID: hguo06lI bought some and posted the end result to the dbrand subreddit and their own marketing account just answered "thanks for the money", so yeah, kinda cringe.
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Wonder if this means Sony is gonna sell their own soon
ID: hgu5cpoSell a black edition whole console*. They know people want solid black more than white so they put it out 2nd. Probably under some silly tag like "midnight edition"
ID: hgu60i0I don't think Sony is struggling to sell white PS5s
ID: hgvhyx5That's funny because I think they called the controller midnight black.
ID: hguhnl7I'd be willing to bet we'll eventually be getting collectors editions of games that come with custom side panels as a package deal.
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dbrand: “Yeah we did it, sue us.”
Sony: threatens to sue
dbrand: pikachuface.jpg
ID: hgutqvtThey knew it was going to happen, the question was when. I don't think they are surprised at all.
ID: hgvbw3wyeah it was definitely just marketing, and it worked because it was literally on the main page of multiple gaming news sites.
ID: hgunsj1Sonys legal team thats in retainer rubbing there hands
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Damn they kind of bitched out fast. They're advertising was practically begging Sony sue lol
ID: hgud4dcThey sat on a C&D for a few months, Sony just came back and told them they issued a patent in Canada (where DBrand operates) so that's what caused this whole thing.
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Well, glad I got them when I did then.
ID: hguflwfSame
Sony is probably going to sell their own plates.
ID: hgunttsRight there with you, I love the all black look.
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Lol.
is pissed..ID: hgu9wtpThe lawyers wording with recouping lost profits does that hint at Sony working on custom plates? It would seem obvious as another easy revenue source for them to do that.
ID: hgua5d2I think that's just lawyer speak.
Not to be confused with what the product team actually does.
Though I do think Sony has something planned.
ID: hgupa80An entire subreddit dedicated to a company that makes screen protectors and phone cases I know it's reddit but come on guys.
ID: hgv0o8sThats peak reddit for sure.
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If DBrand don't manufacture them, I'm sure some companies in china will. They won't let a little thing like patents get in the way of making money
ID: hguv4s1The tooling and molds are probably already being shared among a few different factories lol
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"What are you going to do, sue me?"
-Company that almost gets sued
ID: hgumpotSony “hold my beer”
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I guess Sony’s going to sell theirs soon
ID: hgu8z8lWhat are they waiting for then?
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Based on the complaint Sony filed, it looks like the plates themselves are not the most enforceable of the alleged IP violations (which are all of trademark and design patent variety). When looking at the complaint, it is important to remember that the primary concern that trademark (for all marks) is around preventing confusion around the source of the product. The thought is that causing confusion in the marketplace as to the source of a product is ultimately bad for the economy. With that said...
The first complaint is around pending design patents for the console itself, which includes its shape. Sony is alleging that the plates violate these patents. I'm not sure that this is clear-cut, as Dbrand is clearly not selling an actual console themselves, but Sony probably still has the upper hand here given that the plates and the console are so highly related. It's not like Dbrand's plate design is for cookware or something completely unrelated.
The strongest one is the second, in which the PlayStation logo itself is used on the product by Dbrand, which is a no-no.
The third seems spurious, I'm not sure Sony could actually argue their marks are being violated and causing marketplace confusion.
The fourth item can easily be worded around by Dbrand, i.e. instead of saying "PS5 Nameplate" they could say "Dbrand nameplate - works with PS5" or something like that.
IP law is full of gray areas, so who knows. I'd say if they stop using the logo as mentioned in #2 then Dbrand is in much better shape. IANAL.
ID: hguw5z7The strongest one is the second, in which the PlayStation logo itself is used on the product by Dbrand, which is a no-no.
There is no PS logo on the PS5 darkplates from dbrand.
ID: hguye2wThis point in the letter refers to infringement through skins sold by dbrand and includes a screenshot of the YouTube installation guide rather than the dark plates themselves. It seems dbrand have removed the video from their channel, but there's a mirror of it here:
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I remember when they had that "come at me brah" attitude. lol
ID: hgvi04hIt’s really baffling to me how people don’t understand this is part of their plan.
They made their quick money, time for another product. They’ve done this with so many products now, they know what they’re doing.
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Glad I purchased these as soon as I got my console
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Got mine on time then! They are fantastic and very polished.
引用元:https://www.reddit.com/r/PS5/comments/q96w8n/dbrand_pulls_its_ps5_darkplates_from_sale_after/
Weird marketing lol