The selling of "mod chips" for Sony PlayStation 2 game consoles has been ruled illegal by a UK high court.
Mr Justice Laddie backed Sony's legal argument that its intellectual property was being infringed by people selling the chips to console owners.
The ruling is thought to be one of the first brought under a controversial European Union directive on copyright.
Sony brought its case against a man called "mr x" who was accused of selling about 1,500 "Messiah" mod chips.
In the High Court, Mr Justice Laddie ruled that "Mr x" was acting illegally in selling the chips which get around the built-in copy protection system on Sony's console.
As well as declaring the sale of the mod chips illegal, Mr Laddie said that the use, advertising or possession of them for commercial purposes should be considered illegal too.
