Thursday, January 13, 2011

Geohot Responds to Sony’s Lawsuit over PlayStation 3 / PS3 Jailbreak

               Geohot PS3 Lawsuit
Today, Geohot’s (George Hotz) attorney Stewart Kellar, responded against the lawsuit filed by Sony over PlayStation 3 jailbreak. The legal docs, pertaining to the case, have been
surfaced online citing that George Hotz does not have a PlayStation “PSN” account and had never worked with team fail0verflow for any kind of unlawful activity.
Steward defended and said, Mr. Hotz is a computer prodigy, a little over 21 years of age, that is well-known for his accomplishments in the field of iPhone development, such as for creating the ability to unlock the phone to provide for interoperability between various cellular network carriers. Mr. Hotz has also gained fame through his numerous accomplishments in the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, and provided numerous interviews on major television networks including the Today Show, Fox, CNN, NBC, CBS, and ABC. More recently, Mr. Hotz discovered the ability to install programs on thePlayStation 3, which has angered Sony.
He further defended that Playstation is like a computer with an ability to play films on BluRay discs and other media and it has the ability to access the internet and play musicand a number of other features. These additional features can be enhanced by an end user’s ability to install and run third party software on the Playstation computer. Instead of pointing out the possibilities in innovation and enhancement to the Playstation, Sony has instead chosen to quote internet chat boards and other unauthenticated hearsay sources to demonstrate the “truth” of the matter asserted: that “jailbreaking” the Playstation computer has no use other than to play pirated, copyright-protected, video games. Unlike a physical modchip which doesn’t permit end users to install noninfringing software and features to the Playstation computer, the technique and device alleged to have been utilized by Mr. Hotz enables users to enhance the noninfringing aspects of the Playstation computer and treat the apparatus as it is, a computer.
Geohot in Court for Sony's Lawsuit
In order to protect physical assets from being seized by Sony, Stewart said, Mr. Hotz is a computer services contractor by trade. He relies on his computers, some of which may be at issue in the present matter, to earn a living. In fact, Mr. Hotz is currently performing contract work which requires the use of his personally-owned computers. If forced to turn his computer(s) over to Sony’s counsel, Mr. Hotz will lose his ability to earn a living. Mr. Hotz will likewise lose any personal research unrelated to the present matter and any other documentation unrelated to the current matter that resides on his media devices. Sony is an international company with the ability to retain five attorneys at a well-regarded law firm for a case against Mr. Hotz. Sony will suffer no hardship if it is forced to access Mr. Hotz computers and media devices through proper discovery procedures in a court that can properly assert jurisdiction over Mr. Hotz.
Those who don’t know, Stewart Kellar is a popular attorney who won a big case a while ago against the MPAA and RIAA. You can find more about him here. If you want, you can download the George Hotz Legal response to read in length. We will update you as and when more information pours-in.

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