THE High Court of Australia has unanimously ruled that mod-chips are legal, but the implications of the case for game manufacturers are not clear.

The mod chips circumvent technology designed to stop Sony PlayStation consoles from playing illegally copied game discs.
The mod chips also allow gamers to ignore manufacturers' regional coding systems and purchase games and DVDs designed for markets outside of Australia, which are often cheaper than those from local suppliers.

All six High Court judges held that widely-used mod-chips were legal.

While the decision is likely to please gaming enthusiast's -- settling a long-running dispute over the legality of the chips under Australia's current copyright laws -- their victory is likely to be short-lived.

The federal Government has agreed to amend Australia's copyright laws to outlaw mod chips as part of its trade agreement with the US.