Infamous PlayStation 5 faceplate maker, Dbrand, has returned with redesigned ‘Darkplates’ in an attempt to circumvent legal action from Sony.
Days after Dbrand called Sony “terrorists” for sending in a Cease & Desist letter, the company took to Reddit to unveil its new plates, arguing that since Sony specifically took issue with Dbrand using its patented design, there shouldn’t be any further problems now that the faceplates have been redesigned.
Dbrand also chastised media outlets that pointed out that it had dared Sony to sue, only to end up pulling its plates when threatened.
“Turns out, the headline ‘Company dares Sony to sue, folds when threatened with lawsuit’ sparked quite the dialogue,” wrote Dbrand. “By creating a brand new design, Darkplates 2.0 successfully closes the loop on this dispute and neutralizes any future infringement claims from Sony.”
Dbrand acknowledged that Sony is unlikely to back down, but claims that the company has no basis to sue for infringement anymore because Darkplates’ design is “original.” “If they want to try, they’d better be ready to pay our legal fees,” Dbrand added.
Sony apparently didn’t have a registered design patent when Darkplates were first introduced. Dbrand, for some reason, didn’t anticipate that Sony would file a patent claim but it did. As a result, the original Darkplates could no longer be sold.
“We had two options: 1. Spend millions fighting the legitimacy of the design patent claims for many years in court. 2. Start fresh,” Dbrand argued. It chose the latter option.
Time will tell how Sony will respond.
[Source: Reddit]
