A company creating alternative PS5 faceplates has released its new design just days after receiving a legal notice from Sony.
Canadian company Dbrand began selling its unofficial black PS5 faceplates in February, but last week was issued a cease and desist letter from Sony. Just a few days later, however, the company released a brand-new design which it believes is safe from any future legal proceedings.
The new design, dubbed Darkplates 2.0, comes in three colors - the traditional white found on PS5 consoles, the company's signature black, and a PS1-style grey - and features a prominent vent on the side of the plates, as well as RGB lights running down the edge of the plates.
In a post on Reddit, the company explains that when it first launched the plates, Sony didn't have a registered patent for the faceplate design. Without that, it couldn't take legal action against Dbrand for design infringement. Having secured that patent, Sony has now taken that action, but in creating a brand new design, Dbrand has worked around that patent in a way that it claims "successfully closes the loop on this dispute and neutralizes any future infringement claims from Sony."
All of that is likely to be good news for customers, with whom the new design has already proved popular - the first two waves of sales, due to ship in November and December, have already sold out. Sony might still pursue some legal action, but at this point at least, Dbrand seems confident that its new approach is original enough that Sony won't really have a case.
