Darkplates

Toronto-based Dbrand, a company that makes vinyl skins for smartphones and other tech, announced that it’s bringing back its PlayStation 5 replacement panels called ‘Darkplates.’

If you haven’t followed along with the drama, Dbrand announced over the weekend that Sony had threatened legal action over Darkplates. Considering Dbrand boldly baited Sony to sue when it launched the Darkplates, the threatened legal action wasn’t a total surprise.

While the whole “company dares another company to sue them, then gets threatened with a lawsuit” bit is rather funny, Dbrand’s bait wasn’t why Sony threatened legal action. As Dbrand pointed out in a new Reddit post, the entire basis of the lawsuit is that Sony registered a patent for the design of the PlayStation 5 side plates. Dbrand said that Sony didn’t have a registered design patent for the PS5’s side panels when it launched Darkplates.

“We didn’t think they’d ever get one,” Dbrand wrote in the Reddit post. “They did.”

The original Darkplate design

It’s also worth noting that in the company’s previous Reddit post, Dbrand said that it received a cease and desist letter from Sony’s attorneys months ago but only complied after learning that Sony had gotten a patent in Canada.

Not to be deterred, Dbrand also announced a new version of Darkplates in its Reddit post. This time, the side panels sport a different design (primarily by ‘cutting corners’) and new air intake vents. Dbrand cited a video from Gamers Nexus that analyzes the thermal design of the PS5 — if you don’t have time to watch the full 37-minutes, the relevant information is basically that removing the side panels makes the PS5 run about five degrees cooler.

The new Darkplates come with optional mesh grills to help prevent dust from getting into the console for those worried about dust.

Dbrand unveiled new colour options for its revamped Darkplates as well, including white for those who like how the PS5 currently looks and ‘Retro Gray’ that’s “colour-matched to a retro console which shall remain nameless.”

Finally, Dbrand announced ‘Lightstrips,’ which are strips of semi-translucent coloured vinyl that are “designed to precisely cover the diffused LED light strips flanking the sides of your PS5, tinting them with one of eight high-saturation hues.”

To wrap it all up, the company notes that Sony will “probably” sue them, but notes that this time, Dbrand has created an original design “for which [Sony has] no basis to allege infringement.” Confident as ever, Dbrand also said that if Sony wants to try, “they’d better be ready to pay our legal fees.”

You can learn more about the new Darkplates here.

Images credit: Dbrand

Source: Dbrand (Reddit)

Back in February, Toronto-based Dbrand launched ‘Darkplates,’ an accessory for the PlayStation 5 that let owners replace the default white faceplates that ship with the console with matte black ones.

In typical Dbrand fashion, the company cheekily baited Sony to “sue us” on the website for the Darkplates — a decision that seems to have come back to bite the company.

Although Sony didn’t sue, it did threaten legal action and sent a cease and desist letter (which Dbrand has published here).

Sony’s letter raises several issues with the Darkplates, including with how they “replicate” Sony’s design — the Darkplates feature Dbrand’s take on the PlayStation 5’s ‘microtexture,’ which feature thousands of tiny circles, squares, ‘X’ symbols and triangles (the same symbols on the PlayStation controller’s buttons).

In the letter, Sony also asked Dbrand to “promptly and permanently cease and take down all marketing and promotion for and cease all sales worldwide of faceplates featuring the product configuration of [Sony’s] PS5 faceplates or any similar product configuration, including without limitation all faceplates currently for sale at dbrand.com.”

In a lengthy Reddit post full of swear words, jokes, and some clever ‘whataboutism’ pointing fingers at Netflix’s Squid Game, Dbrand wrote that it “elected to submit to the terrorists’ demands… for now,” (emphasis theirs). The Darkplates website now features a list of coverage from media outlets and that’s it — you can’t buy them anymore.

Dbrand also notes in the Reddit post that it received the cease and desist letter months ago, but only made a change after Sony’s lawyers informed the company that a patent had been issued in Canada that reportedly covers the shape of the PS5’s faceplates.

The Verge points out that Sony has threatened legal action against other companies that sold PS5 faceplates. Further, both The Verge and Dbrand heavily imply that Sony may launch its own PS5 faceplate accessories given how easy it is to remove the faceplates and how hard Sony’s fighting third-party options.

Whether that actually happens, Dbrand seems to sum it up best: “Darkplates are dead. Thanks, Sony.”

Source: Dbrand (Reddit) Via: The Verge