Travicity
01-13-2011, 09:33 PM
They may be going to court, but George "GeoHot" Hotz and members of fail0verflow -- who in their own respective ways were responsible for dismantling the PS3's software security last week -- still insist what they did was perfectly legal.
"I am a firm believer in digital rights," Hotz said to the BBC in response to the lawsuit Sony served against him. "I would expect a company that prides itself on intellectual property to be well versed in the provisions of the law, so I am disappointed in Sony's current action."
Sony's suit seeks to win a Temporary Restraining Order, Order to Show Cause, and Order of Impoundment against Hotz, which would require him to turn in all hardware and software used to circumvent the PS3's security and bar him from using a PS3 to obtain any further code or information from the system. Hotz, however, says Sony's lawsuit is without merit. "I have spoken with legal counsel and I feel comfortable that Sony?s action against me doesn't have any basis," he said.
Members of the hacking group fail0verflow were also named in Sony's lawsuit, and they also deny any wrongdoing. "Our exclusive goal was, is, and always has been to get OtherOS back," the group said in a joint statement (via Yahoo News), adding that they have never "condoned, supported, approved of, or encouraged videogame piracy."
Still, increased piracy is exactly what Sony says will be the result of Hotz and fail0verflow's work, as they argue in the lawsuit that failure to obtain the restraining orders will cause them to "suffer irreparable harm."
However, Hotz and fail0verflow have claimed all along that the nature of releasing the PS3's "root key" online represents the crossing of a Rubicon, as there's now nothing Sony can do to repair the PS3's compromised security -- so exactly how much more harm Sony would avoid with his lawsuit is hard to say.
1UP
"I am a firm believer in digital rights," Hotz said to the BBC in response to the lawsuit Sony served against him. "I would expect a company that prides itself on intellectual property to be well versed in the provisions of the law, so I am disappointed in Sony's current action."
Sony's suit seeks to win a Temporary Restraining Order, Order to Show Cause, and Order of Impoundment against Hotz, which would require him to turn in all hardware and software used to circumvent the PS3's security and bar him from using a PS3 to obtain any further code or information from the system. Hotz, however, says Sony's lawsuit is without merit. "I have spoken with legal counsel and I feel comfortable that Sony?s action against me doesn't have any basis," he said.
Members of the hacking group fail0verflow were also named in Sony's lawsuit, and they also deny any wrongdoing. "Our exclusive goal was, is, and always has been to get OtherOS back," the group said in a joint statement (via Yahoo News), adding that they have never "condoned, supported, approved of, or encouraged videogame piracy."
Still, increased piracy is exactly what Sony says will be the result of Hotz and fail0verflow's work, as they argue in the lawsuit that failure to obtain the restraining orders will cause them to "suffer irreparable harm."
However, Hotz and fail0verflow have claimed all along that the nature of releasing the PS3's "root key" online represents the crossing of a Rubicon, as there's now nothing Sony can do to repair the PS3's compromised security -- so exactly how much more harm Sony would avoid with his lawsuit is hard to say.
1UP