legal issues about modded consoles and copied games?

hi, i was just wondering about the legal issues concerning modded consoles and copied games in the uk?

is it illegal to sell modded consoles? if so, how do so many websites manage to continue to sell such chips?
are there any legal concerns regarding purchasing modded consoles?

also what is the stance on copied games? i know of a few websites based in uk which sell backup discs, how come they arent getting shut down?
also is it legal to purchase such discs? or is it just as big an offense as selling them?

thanks!

 

ok let me explain

in the u.k they have passed a law which makes mod chips illegal in the u.k but this still hasn't stop people from using them

yes in certain countrys they can sell the modded console with one exception they cannot sell the console with the mod chip pre flashed if they do they break the law because several dashboards and roms that boot games use stolen code from these consoles

but on a stranger note several video game manufacters including sony tried to place mod chip disabler software in there firmware on there consoles they then got sued because the court of california found that mod chips are a legal means to backup and run legal copys of games and that no company diserves the right to not allow such things

i thought that it was cool to hear a judge tell sony where to go