After publishing the PS3 root keys publicly, Geohot released his first jailbreak for PS 3 firmware 3.55. Though he specifically wrote on his website that he doesn’t condone piracy and disabled peek and poke features, yet he has been sued for jailbreaking PS3.
The lawsuit is filed against George Hotz (geohot), “Bushing,” Hector Cantero, Sven Peter and “Segher” for bypassing effective technology protection measures employed by Sony.
Defendants George Hotz, “Bushing,” Hector Cantero, Sven Peter and “Segher” (collectively, “Defendants”) are computer hackers.1 Working individually and in concert with one another, Defendants recently bypassed effective technological protection measures (“TPMs”) employed by plaintiff Sony Computer Entertainment America LLP (“SCEA”) in its proprietary PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system (“PS3 System”). Through the Internet, Defendants are distributing software, tools and instructions (collectively, “Circumvention Devices”) that circumvent the TPMs in the PS3 System and facilitate the counterfeiting of video games. Already, pirated video games are being packaged and distributed with these circumvention devices. Declaration of Ryan T. Bricker In Support of Ex Parte Motion for Temporary Restraining Order And Order To Show Cause Re Preliminary Injunction; Order for Impoundment (“Bricker Decl.”) ¶2, Exh. A. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 65 and Local Rules 65-1 and 7-10, SCEA moves ex parte to put an immediate halt to the ongoing distribution of these illegal Circumvention Devices and avoid irreparable harm to SCEA and to other video game software developers stemming from video game piracy.
Defendants’ Circumvention Devices allow users to circumvent multiple TPMs in the PS3 System – including access control, encryption and digital signature protections – to enable use or playing of illegal copies of PlayStation®3 video games on the PS3 System.
Geohot has removed the root keys and other softwares helpful in PS3 jailbreak from his website until the decision is made in the favour of him and other hackers.
Hopefully the courts will use the same logic that Library of Congress Copyright Office used when ruling that iPhone jailbreaking was legal. “When one jailbreaks a smartphone in order to make the operating system on that phone interoperable with an independently created application that has not been approved by the maker of the smartphone or the maker of its operating system, the modifications that are made purely for the purpose of such interoperability are fair uses.”
The complete legal papaers can be found at http://geohot.com/.
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Sony has every right to file a case, let’s just hope that the best things will develop out of it.
the reason video game consuls developed protection software in the first place is because making video games for someone elses game system is completely legal. so they decided to create protection software so if you tried to make a game without the *key* they would not play.
all this guy did was make that key, but what i think the real issue is the illegal distribution of copied games, which are a felony…
are a felony? is you kidding me?
This will ruin it for all. Game developers wont be able to sell their games cus ppl can just download them pirated. Results in bad or non exclusives to the PS3 anymore.
Trophies will loose their purpose. Im a trophy hunter, and i see this only as bad news.
With the recent ruling allowing users to jailbreak their cell phones, what does Sony hope to accomplish?
Sony can’t do shit.
LOL, in come the bottom feeding, blood sucking attorneys lol