Stevens v Kabushiki Kaisha Sony Computer Enetertainment & Ors

The applicants, Mr. Stevens and others, brought proceedings against Kabushiki Kaisha Sony Computer Entertainment and other related entities, alleging breaches of contract and misleading and deceptive conduct in relation to the PlayStation 3 gaming console. The dispute concerned the console's ability to "back up" or "archive" games, a feature that was allegedly removed by a software update. The matter came before the High Court of Australia.

The central legal issues before the High Court were whether the applicants had established a cause of action for breach of contract and whether the respondents had engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct in contravention of the Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth) (now the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth)). Specifically, the court considered whether the respondents' conduct in removing the "OtherOS" functionality from the PlayStation 3 console constituted a breach of the terms of sale or the consumer guarantees, and whether representations made about the console's capabilities were misleading.

The High Court, in its joint judgment, found that the applicants had not established a breach of contract. Their Honours reasoned that the terms of the End User Licence Agreement did not confer a contractual right to the "OtherOS" functionality, and that the removal of this feature did not amount to a breach of any express or implied terms. Furthermore, the court held that the respondents had not engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct. The representations made about the console's capabilities were found to be sufficiently qualified, and the subsequent removal of the "OtherOS" functionality was not considered to be misleading in the circumstances, particularly given the terms of the licence agreement which allowed for software updates.

The High Court therefore dismissed the applicants' appeal, upholding the decision of the Full Federal Court.