Dbrand PS5 faceplates are no more. The company that makes many different faceplates and customization items for game consoles and more, will no longer make them. The maker of Dbrand PS5 faceplates, called “Darkplates”, has revealed they had received a cease-and-desist letter from Sony. The company will no longer sell “Darkplates” as of today.
Dbrand has become pretty well known in recent years for its brutally honest marketing and borderline satirical approach to corporate culture. The company has always been very upfront about mocking the sanitized nature of marketing, especially on their social media. This has led to a lot of fans turning to the company for their various faceplates, cases and other products.
The actual problem stems from a Cease & Desist letter sent by Sony. The post on Reddit that announces the change continues this mocking policy, saying that the brand will “submit to the terrorists’ demands… for now.” Granted, this is a pretty crass way to phrase things, but it fits for their rather sardonic brand. The Cease & Desist letter threatened legal action against Dbrand, threatening to try and collect up to $150,000 per infringing item, the maximum allowed by US law.
The crux of the complaint was that the logos and designs engraved on the Dbrand plates could arguably infringe on Sony’s trademarks for button shapes and logos. Dbrand wasn’t the only company selling modified faceplates for the console. So, it remains to be seen what happens next for those companies as well. It’s very likely that PS5 custom skins and faceplates are going away.
The closure of this aspect of their business is a sad bit of news, but not the first time a dispute has caused these issues. Litigious pursuits around game piracy from the likes of Nintendo are not a new thing. Sony has also been hit with its own lawsuit over controller issues.
