PS5 faceplate seller is now cancelling all orders following ‘legal action from Sony

A peripheral company selling custom PS5 faceplates has been forced to cancel all its orders and pull the products from sale, following reported legal action from Sony.

[-Foxtrot]

Are you surprised when they don’t even have their own ones out yet

[porkChop]

Has Sony officially said they'll be doing custom side panels? I think it would be smart business, it worked super well with the 360.

[darthv72]

The 360 also had 3rd party plates that MS didnt try to crack down on.

[jukins]

Not yet but Imo this indicates sony has some sort intentions to tap into that market.

[DJStotty]

They have them patented, so my guess is yeah

[CorndogBurglar]

Did those faceplates for 360 actually work "super well" though? I seem to remember them being a thing at console launch, and they were around for the forst year or so, but then they just kind of faded away. If they were really that successful then MS would have kept pumping out new designs and they would have been a thing for the entire life of the console.

But to be fair, they were only the faceplates. The side panels didn't get anything customizable. So they looked weird just having a different faceplate with no matching sides.

Sony should put out some basic designs for its side panels and see where it goes. Jist start with a few colors, and basic designs and if they do well keep it going. I know I would pay for some black or metallic blue side panels. I just really don't like the white panels.

[StoneyYoshi]

Pretty sure Sony said they have ideas but no definite yes or no answer if they are making custom plates. But if Sony is making them stop then most likely it's another way they are saying yes.

[S2Killinit]

@darth
You mean 3rd party that they cut a deal with. Are your green giggles getting foggy?

[anubusgold]

@CorndogBurglar No the 360 had vinyl stickers to go on the sides of the consoles i wrapped my console in wood grain front panel with vinyl wood grain sides

[darthv72]

@s2, there were close to 1000 face plates released officially and another 1000+ that were custom. I dont think MS got a cut of every one but the fact there are so many means they werent trying to block others from releasing them.

@corndog, they lasted quite a while. And some are pretty rare and collectable. check them out here: http://www.xboxaddict.com/X...

[SullysCigar]

The good news is this guy just did some invaluable market research for them at no extra cost lol

I'd rather buy official and guarantee the same quality as the original, personally.

[ziggurcat]

"Has Sony officially said they'll be doing custom side panels?"

Not officially afaik, but I think they will be making their own available. It'd be such a huge missed opportunity if they didn't.

[crxss]

Yes, they did it with the original PS4 too

[r2oB]

@ darthv72

It looks like those faceplates were customized from existing faceplates (initially produced by Microsoft or authorized channels). What this website was doing was making and selling an item that’s patent pending (will most likely get issued), without Sony’s permission. If you want to sell custom plates, you have to first secure the plate legally, then customize it, then sell it. Or you can get licensed to produce the plates legally and sell them. They did neither.

[Michiel1989]

it might be sony is trying to protect its customers, maybe the faceplates help with cooling or what have you and a different material or slightly different shape might have effects on that. Im pretty sure they will allow 3rd party plates at some point, but maybe they need to be certifieid by Sony first or something alike.

[Seraphim]

I'd say that's the least of it. Licensing. I could be mistaken but I'm pretty sure that the entire console is under patent; at least in regards to consoles. So making covers would require a licensing deal. If I recall the 360 and it's faceplates were all made by MS or licensed as well. Regardless, no surprise.

and someone comparing this to phone case makers. LMFAO. completely different.

[CaptainHenry916]

"Before we launched, we did our due diligence" said the company that used the website called "platestation5"

I stopped reading there. They clearly didn't..

[Christopher]

Likely has more to do with certifying they'll actually work and not adversely affect their purpose as heat dispersing channels as well. If they're not the right type of plastic, might warp and cause issues.

[jairusmonillas]

There's no guarantee the airflow will not mess up if you use a 3rd party faceplate. And worse of all some dumb people will blame Sony if their PS5 get tech issues from using non official faceplates.

[NeoGamer232]

Yup, if someone does that they void their warranty.

Just like when I buy a car and jack it up. If I choose to do certain things they void the warranty.

I agree with Sony, but they have to make accessory and peripheral vendors put a certified PS Logo if they want to control this stuff. Don't go and sue someone because you lack a certification program.

[agnosticgamer]

@NeoGamer232
Yup... Because you couldn't just snap back on the original on right?

Not saying Sony is right... Not saying they were wrong. But it was Sony's decision and they made it.

That's all that matters.

[esemce]

The panels are supposed to come off to allow cleaning and installation of an nvme.

[StoneyYoshi]

"Just like when I buy a car and jack it up. If I choose to do certain things they void the warranty."
Dealership would only void the parts that were affected by the modification. They don't just void the entire warranty on the vehicle. Proof being my last 2 cars I modified mine with performance parts and as long as your part didn't affect the malfunctioning part, it would still be covered. Which in that case, you could swap the performance part back to the stock part if you kept it so they cant say it was anything you did. So it's not the same thing. Electronics only void warranties if its physically damaged by accident or if you open the system up which I believe the Void sticker is illegal to enforce in the USA. Here is a quote and link stating so.

https://www.digitaltrends.c...
No longer will you have to resign yourself to a life in which you refrain from pulling off stickers that read “warranty void if removed.” As it turns out, these stickers are not only ugly, but in fact deceptive and potentially illegal in the U.S., as per a series of warning letters the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sent to six companies. These companies deal in a wide range of industries, the Commission noted, from selling automobiles to cellular devices to video gaming systems — but all say that “consumers must use specified parts or service providers to keep their warranties intact.” And this, the FTC says, is a no-no.

“Unless warrantors provide the parts or services for free or receive a waiver from the FTC, such statements generally are prohibited by the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, a law that governs consumer product warranties,” the Commission noted. “Similarly, such statements may be deceptive under the FTC Act.”

[AmUnRa]

Sony have certificated the faceplates so you are wrong

[NeoGamer232]

@esemce
So, they designed a console to be opened and cleaned inside and to install an internal nvme. That is a design choice they made. So, if they want to protect the design choice they should have a certification program.

@agnosticgamer
Yup, I agree Sony made the decision. And yes someone could just switch them. But they were a bit clueless in thinking that someone would not want to customize the panels. The size of the panels are screaming, "paint or replace me with something very cool"

@StoneyYoshi
Well then Sony should apply for the waiver if it is really that important.

[GamerRN]

Personally, I don't think Sony has any legal rights to sue them. I think it's a hail mary with the hopes they stop the sale. Companies have made 3rd party cases for phones, and mods have been sold forever. Unless they claim to own the shape itself, but I don't that's the case. He could simply slightly alter it and the problem is solved.

Also, I'm mad because I wanted the black one, and I want to make the controller all white if possibly since that black piece pops off easily
...

[Stanjara]

Dude, they own the design, attachment system. Its part of the cooling solution. Its PS5...newest console on the block. It's Sony, that have very good (expensive) legal team and everything is patented. How can you be so blind?
You are talking about 3rd party phone cases that don't have anything with the phone itself. Its a nightmare, for example, replacing fake or original screens with import confiscating and charges by the companies aka Apple.

Yes, those plates are only plastic, but everything about them...even color is protected by Sony.

[Charal]

This is very different from a phone case, you replace a piece of the console here.
Even if it is designed to be easily removable, any design or material issue with a none licensed part may damage your console.

Sony has all legal right, they own the design.
To get back to the phone case example, not everything is allowed in this front also: no tier supplier is doing a phone case with Apple logo for example, it is legally not allowed.

[King_Noctis]

“no tier supplier is doing a phone case with Apple logo for example, it is legally not allowed.“

https://www.amazon.com/ipho...

[DJStotty]

@GamerRN

Yes they have every right, they hold the patent, no one at all can create and distribute for profit, a faceplate.

They would need to come to an agreement with Sony to create them, then it is called a licensed supplier.

[Charal]

@ king_noctis

You should double check your link, all I see are translucent cases with Apple logo from the phone visible.

[GamerRN]

Hopefully we will see the inevitable Chinese seller making one of these since they don't honor trademark rights over there.

[SamPao]

Dude, they called themself "Platestation" they have all rights to sue them

[DogJosha]

@DJStotty It would seem like this would be the case, but the Supreme Court actually ruled against this. They aren't reproducing technology that took tons of financing to create. They are putting fancy colors on a cover plate. This kind of thing is completely legal and Sony is just using scare tactics, as companies love to do, especially Nintendo.

[ActualWhiteMan]

Sony really sucks for this...

[ocelot07]

Why? They probably want to sell there own first. Or like jairusmonillas above said for all we know the moulding of these 3rd party ones may not be correct and cause heat issues.

[Thatgrammar]

@ocelot07
I find it hard to believe that this plastic cover will cause heating issues whatsoever. The plastic could be toxic or any other issue similar to that, but how would it cause heating issues unless the plate blocked the vents? I could be wrong as I am not privy to heat dissipation.

[mkis007]

A lot of engineering goes into how the air gets sucked into the console. If the 3rd party plate is not to spec it could cause a problem.

[gamer7804]

Yah no fun zone... I loved the ones for the Xbox 360.

[SmokinAces]

How dare they protect their IP.

[Charal]

Man I do not understand such reaction.

Sony never officially committed to alternate faceplates.
The demand is there for sure, so this will happen and you should be happy for this instead of mourning that an obscure none licenced supplier get legally caught.

Imagine you preorder such faceplate and they don’t fix properly on your precious PS5. Sony wants to avoid this, as well as making some money from the feature which we can hardly criticize: they goal is to make money with PS5, and easy faceplate swap is a feature they have introduce.

[SamPao]

Dude, they called themself "Platestation" ....

[ActualWhiteMan]

I mean have they ever sued for custom shell's for their consoles or handhelds? Its a piece of plastic that could be 3D printed for gods sake.

[SullysCigar]

And nobody's stopping you from 3D printing one, but you can't go around selling them when they're patented.

This is also probably an indicator that Sony will sell their own, properly molded alternative colours, but don't wish to do so quite yet. They'd be the appropriate material too, which is what I would want when it's surrounded by heat vents.

[Elda]

That was obvious. They should have known that especially if Sony didn't make any legal deal with the faceplate makers.

[lukasmain]

People should just paint their own faceplates with special spray paint like... Krylon Fusion for Plastic- paints.

[Patrick2]

Wouldn't they have to get licensing rights to be able to make accessories that attach directly to another companies product?

[Zhipp]

I don't think so. TBH I don't see how this is any diifferent from a phone case or skin, which, afaik, don't require licensing from phone manufacturors. I really don't understand how Sony can sue someone for selling a piece of plastic.

EDIT: People also make custom joy-cons for Switch all the time with no licensing from Nintendo.

[Double_O_Revan]

I think companies like Madcatz need licenses to make controllers because they actually interface with the device. But these were just pieces of plastic that fit into slots of another device, in a sense. I don't see how Sony has any legal ground here. But of course the company is gonna just cut its losses instead of fight out of fear of legal ramifications and cost.

[Zhipp]

@Agent
As I understand, Sony does not give licensing for third parties to make controllers, which is why they're not sold in stores like gamestop and walmart(at least in the US), but it's not illegal to make them. There are still companies out there making and selling unlicensed controllers on eBay and Amazon with no ramifications from Sony.

[Nacho_Z]

Probably because those are additions to the product and this is removing parts and replacing them. Phone manufacturers probably wouldn't be happy with people prising panels off their phones.

[boing1]

I think the analogy is wrong. Mobile case doesn't require de-attaching and attaching the sides of your actual device. The article also states that Sony had pending patents for faceplates. This company knew about it and still decided to went with pre-orders, without any licence agreement from Sony. Sony is just protecting its business, that's all. I'm sure there will be plenty of 3rd party plates available, we just have to give it more time.

[Patrick2]

Yeah but as Nacho said, your removing parts of the actual system and replacing them with new ones. What if they were made cheaper and when someone moved their console they came off allowing the console to fall and be damaged? Some people would blame Sony. I actually feel that Sony may allow some companies to license and make plates, but probably with very strict guidelines.

[Zhipp]

@Patrick
Replacement plates (front and back) have been sold but third parties since time immemorial, dude. I had a bunch of faceplates for my psp, and backplates for my ds, 3ds, and half of the phones I've owned. If you buy an unlicensed third party part, you are willingly accepting any risks that come with it. Everyone should understand that.

I would totally understand if Sony prohibited their retail partners from carrying third party plates(as they already do with controllers). It's the threat of legal action that has me scratching my head.

@nacho
If the patent is pending I suppose that might explain why Sony went after these guys. The existence of third party faceplates would probably complicate approval for their own patent. Tbh I don't think something like this should be patentable in the first place. It's kinda like how Apple patented the shape of the iPhone. It's ridiculous, but that's the legal system I guess.

[Pretentious]

Not to mention, the name was Platestation. I mean, come on lmao.

[Knightofelemia]

Give it time and Sony might license the face plate to a third party Sony knows there is money to be made in custom face plates for the PS5.

[gamer7804]

There will be an online template and people will make vinyl stick on or 3D print. Just a matter of time

[RedDevils]

Dbrand.

[ziggurcat]

given that the plates on the PS5 are textured, vinyl wrap wouldn't adhere very well.

[B1uBurneR]

I can't support Sony and Nintendo over dumbsh like this.

[lukasmain]

cringe

[BlaqMagiq1]

Judging by your comment history you were never going to support them even without this. Nice try at fooling people tho.

[B1uBurneR]

Then let me clarify not support them... as in purchase hardware or software that do not mean I won't or don't have a history of playing their exclusives.

[gold_drake]

of course they had to take actions, as much as it sucks.

[XxINFERNUSxX]

I guess you can make your own and any color to, if you have a 3D printer. And another thing, why don't this seller sell on the dark web with bit coin as currency. If he did that in the first place he would have never been bothered. I'm, 100% sure no one will even bother to find him especially on the dark web, good luck with that lol. If illegal gun sales and drug sites are still going on for years you think selling PS5 faceplates witll be taken down? LMAO haha. xD

[NEXUS-6]

I'm doing my own - black plasti dip and graphite metallizer over the top and then some artwork printed on label stock with a matte cellosheen over it.

Just gotta decide what artwork/screenshot.

[lukasmain]

Make sure you show us a pic when you're done in the future. Would love to see

[NEXUS-6]

Will do - got a few ideas, it won't be too extravagant. Bit will be good enough haha

[InklingGirl]

Well that’s a big surprise.

[InUrFoxHole]

Weird I didn't expect so many people to be against this company. Especially since a lot of gamers were pro skins for the ps3/360

[SamPao]

They called themself "Platestation" ... nobody is against custom plates...

[InUrFoxHole]

Idk read the comments

[jznrpg]

Well they didn’t pay for a license so yeah it’s expected .

[GamerzElite]

Its fake, the seller still accepting pre order for PS5 faceplate.

[RazzerRedux]

Yeah. I mean.....it is right here:

https://www.customizemyplat...

[Stanjara]

Never see it coming ha?

[Daeloki]

I'm only surprised it took them this long to react

[boing1]

Anyone actually read the article? They knew Sony has pending patents for faceplates and they still went with the pre-orders. Not sure what they were expecting :/.

[Dark-soul]

this makes no sence, so company that sells white doors for example can take legal action against you if you sell black pain for the doors or different kind of handles? i could think of many more examples

[SamPao]

They called themselfs "Platestation" ...

[Pyrofire95]

Seems a little crappy, they did seem well intended, were willing to comply with the laywers but ultimately told to shut down.
[rest is a bit of a rant.]
The original PS4 panel was also said to have replacements eventually, during the early days, that never happened. The only hope seems to be that Sony actually does intend to produce their own hopefully in place of having limited edition consoles, cause that already seemed crappy. The only people to get a limited edition are the people who just happen to be in the market or had plenty of cash to burn, most people who cared probably already having the consoles.

[Bender6502]

I'm not a big fan of Sonys legal wranglings of late. eg LOU2 leaks and YouTube take downs etc, but in this instance it's a perfectly reasonable response imo. We don't know if the seller was going to produce these items using the right quality of materials. Who knows, seller might have used cheap plastics not up to the job.

[DJStotty]

I would say this is temporary, once Sony agrees to let the website use the patent, they will become a licensed supplier of plates, albeit materials etc would have to correspond with patents etc. blah de blah.

This is standard business practice, once Sony get a percentage of the sale, all will be good.

[Smclaren1985]

Wow Sony lol to be fair though where did they get the measurements from and info when making them?! Considering the console hadn’t got into anyone’s hands yet. Still a little harsh Sony but tech they are breaking copyright

[Nodoze]

Wow. we give you a shite white console, and now sue the person who aims to help correct our mistake.

[SamPao]

Maybe you should do some research. They named themselfs "Platestation" ....

[sourOG]

They changed the name and they still came after them though.

[Ausbo]

One of the reasons why I said it’s better to wait for the official Sony faceplates

[MADGameR]

This is why I will wait for SONY to announce their official color plates for PS5.

[medman]

What. A. Mess.

[nickanasty206]

Bummer. Hopefully i will see my refund soon. Looks like if i want matte black, i will have to wait for an official product from Sony, or just paint the faceplates myself.

[sourOG]

That sucks. I don’t see what’s illegal about it unless they were claiming they were official Sony products. How do you claim a flat piece of plastic is intellectual property. Should have went to court, there is nothing illegal about knockoff products (depending on country).

[Dirty_Lemons]

I'm a huge fan of all things Sony but come on, I mean how much revenue would this company actually take away from them... Seems petty to say the least.

[airforcex]

That’s Sony bullying the little guy. There’s no way a faceplate will be considered an intellectual property. That’s just like saying the same for cell phone cases. Note that the first issue was the website and then they looked for something else.

[CrimsonWing69]

What if people sent off their plates to be custom painted? Would that be allowed? I'm not sure what the difference between that and people charging to do custom paint jobs on controllers would be.

[blacktiger]

3D printer can't wait for this,

[The-VG-shamman]

The pinnacle of being a consumer is getting mad that you can’t buy a custom faceplate from a random manufacturer for a console that isn’t even out, further more is to think it would be safe to order such thing without verifying the company. Sounds like many people saved they’re money after Sony stopped them. Don’t order any accessories until the console is out and you familiarize yourself. In this age there’s too much scamming online.

[WelkinCole]

You can't just do things like this without a lic. Basic common sense.

[kryteris]

meanwhile in china..

[LucidIllusion]

If someone has to explain why Sony took that action, then you need to gain knowledge and avoid owning a business until you got a sense on how the system works. My god most people are idiots.