According to a lawyer who defended a case against Nintendo, the lawsuit that Sony filed against manufacturers of mod chips for the Playstation 3 may be the first of many that game console makers will file in Australia.

The country's Federal Court issued a temporary ban on local retailers that are selling or importing the hardware last week. The solution enables users to run unauthorized software on the PlayStation 3 console.

Along with the temporary ban, the court also ordered the manufacturers of the mod chips to hand over their products to Sony. Japanese gaming company Nintendo sued a local distributor to prohibit the retailer from selling the R4 cartridge.

The solution allows the use of unauthorized applications and games on the Nintendo DS console.

In the end, the case ended in a A$620,000 settlement ($563,000) in favor of Nintendo. John Cheng, the director of Berrigan Doube, the firm that defended the distributor, said that similar cases may end in the same way.

"If history is anything to go by, I envisage many more cases to be settled in favour of the gaming giants before a court is given a proper chance to consider and decide on these highly contentious matters," he said.

In the Playstation 3 mod chip case, the defendants have promised to put up a tough fight.

In its Web site, retailer OzModChips commented on the injunction, saying, "This is not OzModChips versus Sony... This is not OzModChips, Quantronics, Modsupplier versus Sony. We would go as far as saying that it is not even everyone in Australia versus Sony."

"This will affect everyone that plans to buy such a device worldwide. It already sets a dangerous precedent. Everyone that was using OtherOS, everyone that has had a faulty PS3 laser ... and those interested in PS3 custom firmware and homebrew applications. We cannot do it alone, we need the support of everyone in the homebrew community, the media, engineers that understand the inner workings and anyone else that can provide support."

To fight a company such as Sony, the mod chip manufacturers need to have a strong backing, Cheng said.

"It will take an extraordinary person to really take the fight to the gaming console companies due to the significant resources required and the personal risks attached to defending the allegations raised against them," he said.