After the legal threat, Dbrand just made his own faceplate for PS5
Following a cease and desist letter from Sony, Canadian peripheral company Dbrand announced on Saturday that it had been forced to remove its range of PS5 faceplates from its store. Now, just three days later, the company has released its own range of original design skin for the console. In an ad, Dbrand proclaimed “Darkplates are back, checkmate lawyers.”
In a sentence posted on the company subreddit this weekend, Dbrand announced that its PlayStation 5 skins were “dead” after receiving an official contact from Sony threatening legal action if Dbrand continued to sell them. Up to this point, the Dbrand faceplates were nearly identical to those typically found on the console when purchased. The key difference was that instead of being white, the company’s faceplates allowed fans to change their consoles to a matte black design.
Darkplates 2.0. Image Credit – Dbrand
Despite recalling the original plates on Saturday, Dbrand already has a “Darkplate 2.0” design ready to go, suggesting that the company could be using Sony’s legal threats as a marketing tactic. During the time the original Darkplates were for sale, Dbrand taunted and taunted Sony, saying “Go ahead, sue us.” Following news on Saturday that Sony had done exactly that, it initially seemed that perhaps the Canadian brand had pushed its luck too many times and been forced to pay the price. However, now, just three days later, the company has announced a new set of faceplates that it claims are safe from future lawsuits.
Dbrand announced its new Darkplates 2.0 on Reddit in a statement full of self-confidence, wit, and some lighthearted digs. “Look, while we appreciate all the armchair legal advice that was leaked over the weekend,” the statement reads, “the reality of this Darkplates dispute is pretty simple.”
“You can’t successfully sue someone for alleged ‘design infringement’ without a registered design patent. Sony did not have a registered design patent for the PS5 side panels when we launched Darkplates (or for many, many months after). We didn’t think they’d ever get one. They did. Here we are. “
Dbrand says that instead of choosing to “spend millions fighting for the legitimacy of design patent claims over many years in court,” the company chose to start from scratch. In doing so, Dbrand has created a new design in Darkplates 2.0 that he believes “closes the loop on this dispute and neutralizes any future infringement claims from Sony.”
As well as opting to take a different shape with the Darkplates 2.0 design, Dbrand has also added ventilation holes to its design, which could help your console perform better. There is also a small range of color combinations. Fans will be able to choose between black, white, and a third option “color-matched to a retro console that will remain nameless,” which is gray PlayStation 1 for those looking for a more nostalgic feel for their covers.
Dbrand concluded his announcement by considering whether Sony was still going to sue. The statement reads: “Probably. The difference this time is that we have created an original design for which you have no basis to claim infringement. If you want to give it a try, you better be ready to pay our legal fees.”
To learn more about the PlayStation 5, be sure to check out this article detailing how the console finally snapped the Nintendo Switch’s 33-month streak at the top of the US monthly hardware charts.
Jared Moore is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow it on Twitter.
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