Australians have won the right to modify their Sony PlayStations to play imported and copied games.

A federal court decision ruled that the chipping of PlayStations was legal after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission came to the aid of a Sydney man being sued by Sony for selling modification chips for the games console.

The court ruled that the man's actions were not illegal.

The ruling gives Australian PlayStation owners the green light to get their consoles "chipped" or modified to play games from all regions of the world.

As they are sold, PlayStations will play games only from one region.

The court found that Sony's efforts to sue the man went beyond the provisions of the Copyright Act.

However, it said the move did not make pirating games legal, as recent amendments to the Australian Copyright Act make it illegal to make or supply a device designed to overcome copyright protection.