Sony Australia Limited - s.87B undertaking

During the period of approximately August 1998 and January 2000, Sony Australia Limited caused to be published and made available to consumers the sales brochures "Sony 1998-99 handycam" and "Sony 1999 Digital handycam" ('the Brochures'). A complaint was received by the ACCC in relation to the represented horizontal resolution performance of "440" and "over 500 lines" of the XR and Digital 8 systems deployed in Sony handycams and colour pictorial representations of the "Night Shot" function.

The Commission formed the view that Sony had breached, or may have breached, Part V of the Act. Specifically the Commission concluded that the representations in the Brochures were not sufficient to enable customers to distinguish between the resolution potential of the system, as advertised, and the realisable resolution performance of the handycams and also misrepresented, or may have misrepresented, the performance characteristics and quality of recording of the Night Shot function.

Sony provided an undertaking that it will :

• determine who may have relied on the representations in the Brochures in the purchase of Sony handycams;
• provide appropriate compensation to those consumers identified as relying on the representations in the Brochures; and
• conduct an independent review of Sony's Trade Practices Compliance Program.