UK Court of Appeals Rules PS2 is Not a Computer Eligible for Import Duties Rebate

June 20, 2006 at 7:37 pm - by Dale Dietrich

Text of Decision
After a five year battle, the British Court of Appeal has failed to overturn a ruling that classified the PlayStation 2 as a video games console rather than a computer, thereby denying Sony a lucrative £34.2 million ($63m) import duties rebate in the United Kingdom. Lord Justice Chadwick also denied Sony the right to take the appeal to the European Court of Justice describing Sony’s lawyers’ arguments as exceeding “the bounds of propriety” and going “beyond what can be regarded as acceptable written advocacy”. The rebate was phased out in 2005 so this should not be an ongoing legal issue.

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