In Kabushiki Kaisha Sony Computer Entertainment v Stevens [2002] FCA 906 (26 July 2002), which is available on the Austlii database, a Sydney judge held that the anti-circumvention provisions had not been violated by the mod-chipping practice, because Sony had failed to establish that PlayStation consoles actually contained "technological protection measures" as defined by the Act. The question of whether mod-chipping constituted circumvention was left unanswered.

In addition to being important for DVD region-coding (and disabling) practices, this case is interesting in terms of the attention paid by the Australian government. Although Stevens did not have any representation, the Australian competition watchdog, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), intervened in the dispute as a friend of the court, and argued the case on Stevens' behalf. The ACCC issued a press release on Stevens' victory, which is not too surprising, given the agency's opposition to DVD region-coding practices.

It should be interesting to see whether the little guy will prevail against the Full Federal Court."