GeoHotz Lawyers Are Moving For A Dismissal

The ongoing legal tussle between hacker extraordinaire GeoHotz and Sony has seen may twists and turns. The court had previously denied Sony’s appeal for a restraining order on Hotz. Sony followed that by pushing forward an appeal that GeoHotz is in compliance to the PSN agreement since there is a username “Geo1Hotz” registered in the PSN network. GeoHot’s lawyers think otherwise saying that the information regarding that account do not meet their client. The location specified breaks the case since Hotz does not live in Rhode Island, the date of birth of the account is wrong and neither does he use that name. Further more Geohot’s lawyers are now moving for dismissal of the case all together.

[deadreckoning666]

In the words of Kevin Butler..."BOOM!"

[NYC_Gamer]

this case might end up like the one in spain

[Mahr]

"this case might end up like the one in spain"

One only hopes.

[badz149]

that Geodouche is getting more and mor arrogant by the days! he's getting way too much attention and if he wins or the case dismissed, there's no point of buying games anymore because CFW at the moment allow even PSN access with pirated games! a sad sad situation where scum and pirates get privilege the same as paying gamers!

[Look_Behind]

@ basz149
Lol at how stupid you are, if you want to pirate, pirate. If you don't, don't. But stop complaining about people pirating games when it hardly affects you. Do you think devs are going to stop making games? NO.
Personally, I will just rent my games, copy them and boom, cheap games. Sorry but I make my own choices in life, and I dont complain about other peoples if they arent the same as mine.

[badz149]

your ignorance is at full throttle!

"Do you think devs are going to stop making games? NO." - why is that? is it because lots and lots of pirates playing their games for free? NO! it's because of the legit gamers who buy them!

"I will just rent my games, copy them and boom, cheap games." - clap clap clap, like you're the only one doing that and I hope you fully know that what you're doing is ILLEGAL! it's true, it doesn't concern me even a bit like any other bank robbery out there because it's not my money being robbed but ILLEGAL is ILLEGAL, PERIOD!

"Sorry but I make my own choices in life, and I dont complain about other peoples if they arent the same as mine." - yeah, make backups/pirate all you want, that's your choice! but having pirates playing the same damn game I paid online is totally different! your console is yours but online is not! it's the service provided for paying customer, not pirate! try not complaining when playing online and then your game ruined by hackers/cheaters! not feeling so good now are we?

[Heartnet]

@Look Behind..

"Devs wont stop making games".. tut tut tut..

although games are still being made if piracy gets to a point where you cant ignore it dev's will think twice before developing for a console that has a high piracy:bought ratio..

just look at the PC.. less and less games are being made for it and for the consoles instead.. Yes indie games are the exception and there is steam bla bla bla.. However PC games (cept Mmo's) are being made less and less frequent because of piracy and thats why PC games are £10 cheaper than the console eqvilant if its multiplatform.

So ur half assed non intellegent comment holds no ground in this arguement

[XabiTheHumble]

@LookBehind Keep trying to justify your actions you thief, Nobody is telling you you can't make your own decisions idiot, but your still a thief no way around that.
@ForceCSW exactly, I mean its there decision after all right? LMAOOO!!

[Kon]

He needs to have a real job. This kid has so much potential.

[Ninver]

Yeah the terrorists could kidnap him, conduct experiments on his brain and force him to create SKYnet /s

[rodeoo]

You just seem to spout the dumbest comments ever with nothing to contribute to the larger conversation like your antisemitic remarks earlier in the thread.

[Theonik]

Google offered him an internship actually.

[theEx1Le]

I'm pretty sure microsoft has opened the door for him to work on the windows 7 mobile platform.

[EVO-OM3GA]

It doesn't matter now whether Sony wins or not cause:

1) Millions have already downloaded the file off GeoHots Site.
2) People have been trying to run the custom firmware that was first release with fail.
3) The custom firmware is now working on all PS3s, you dont need a disc to run games and a good number of games are working without fail.

@ disagrees
I'm not trying to troll or be a fanboy but its facts.

[Mister_G]

Yes, I work with someone who is running CFW and has games running off an external HDD. He's even been on-line with it and no ban yet.

That was quick.

Sigh! :'(

[EVO-OM3GA]

Yeah I know it was very quick soon as people heard its fully up they got there PS3s done, It will be interesting to see what the other firmwares allow.

I dont think you can be banned its not like a Modded XBOX, even then if you update your firmware before MS tags you, your safe. If hackers acquired MS's Key, then its over the XBOX will be made to do crazy things.

GeoHot and FailoverFlow got Sonys Root Key (I think its called that) so thats, that the PS3 is now truely open.

I hope you can do more with the XMB

[guzman]

At the least, if legal proceedings continue, the bills will bleed George dry.

[rodeoo]

no it wont...His law team is volunteer. He doesn't pay a dime. There are much broader implications to this case then just hacking your ps3. So big law firms volunteer for cases like this.

[Theonik]

What Rodeoo said, Sony won't get lucky again like when they forced an entire import shop out of business. (ad as fallout got play-asia to stop shipping playstation stuff in Europe)

[MrBeatdown]

It's not so much about sticking it to Hotz as it is establishing just how legal it is to circumvent the PS3's security.

The security is in place to protect against piracy and to maintain the quality of the network and the games that use it (like Modern Warfare). If Sony wins, it means they have the law on their side. Sure, it's not going to stop hackers, but it gives Sony a more clearly defined legal ground to go after them in the future and it serves as a deterrent as well.

Bring on the disagrees from the ignorant!

[gamingisnotacrime]

"to maintain the quality of the network and the games that use it (like Modern Warfare)."

is just that quality and Modern Warfare dont belong on the same page,let alone on the same sentence

:)

[SuperStrokey1123]

Let them do and then let Sony find something else to sue him for, rinse and repeat until he cant afford anything.

[Armyntt]

Once again. He loses absolutely nothing. Its an all volunteer law defense team.

[Eamon]

Oh really? I never heard of that.

Do you have a link supporting that?

[SuperStrokey1123]

I didnt know that either. Id like to read some info on that as well. Eventually its going to cost him something though you would think.

[Theonik]

Sony doesn't really have a case against him as is let alone anything else to sue him for.

[SuperStrokey1123]

The case doesnt matter, it matters that they can harrass him through the legal system for pretty much forever if they want.

[Armyntt]

Im sorry i dont have a link i tried finding it. But it was an attorney that won cases against the RIAA and is doing either pro bono or being funded by some advocacy group. Sorry i dont have concrete info on that.

[redsquad]

Yeah, we've all seen "Law & Order" - Pretty much everyone 'moves for a dismissal'...
And it's soooo pretentious to have headlines with "Geohotz" in them. His name is 'George Hotz' and I wish people would stop feting him as some sort of urban champion.

[ReBurn]

Wow, Urban Champion was a ridiculously repetitive yet somehow captivating NES experience, wasn't it?

Nah, who am I kidding. Urban Champion on NES was about as boring as the geohot saga is becoming.

[ChristianGamer]

Lol at Geo1Hotz evidence. The guy is from Rhode Island, born in 95 and doesn't use geohot's proper handle...wow. Compelling proof sony.../s

[Blaze929]

Lol gotta admit, that does seem pretty desperate and sad on Sony's part to try and use that as "evidence"

[zag]

They'll keep appealing.

It'll never stop ever.

If it doesn't work in that state it'll be moved to another state and be appealed.

The PSN ToS doesn't mean much as once you open the box you agree to everything on the back of the manual anyway, which will be the same stuff as the PSN, then you'll have firmware updates which he's updated to 3.15 at least which he'd have agreed to that ToS as well, also you have the 3.55 firmware that he'll have agreed to as well.

Sony are just being nice at the moment, wait till the real shit hits the fan.

[kneon]

Isn't there also TOS that you have to agree to when you turn on the PS3 for the first time? It's been a while since I setup a PS3 so I may be imagining it.

[FailOverHero]

Actually, those updates are all available offline via new games. Some games ship with the latest firmware and your ps3 system can be updated through those.

[Blaze929]

"The PSN ToS doesn't mean much as once you open the box you agree to everything on the back of the manual anyway"

No you don't. How can you even beileve that? Any company that does that is doing illegal practices. That's like saying any company can put in their manual, which no one will read, and say if you open this box we have the right to invade your home and take it.

You are not obligated to agree to anything unless you PHYSICALLY sign something or hit yes/agree.

Correct me if I'm wrong though...just spouting what appears to be common sense

[Theonik]

Exactly, the legal binding of EULAs is not 100% recognised as you don't agree to the terms before you purchase the product. It's also not a contract essentially. There have been cases like this in the past where EULAs were invalidated for these reasons.

[ReBurn]

Exactly correct, Theonik. I've been involved in two cases concerning EULA where the company I used to work for sued because of EULA violations. In one case the company won, in the other case they lost.

The case that the company won was because the entity who purchased the license stopped paying maintenance fees because after using the software for a year they decided they didn't like the EULA. Too late then.

In the case that the company lost the entity who purchased the software never used the software because they didn't agree to the EULA and the company I worked for didn't want to give a refund. The company I worked for was forced to refund the license fee and cancel the maintenance contract.

In both cases the EULA wasn't presented until the software was installed and the users tried to access the system for the first time.

Suppose you buy a PS3 and when you first fire it up you don't agree to the EULA for the system software. At that point you have a right to return it and receive a refund if you don't agree to the license. However, if you agree you are bound by it unless the terms infringe upon your rights as a consumer or the software doesn't do what the license you bought says it does.

With the removal of OtherOS people who felt disenfranchised because Sony changed the rules after purchase could have sought a full or partial refund from Sony. With the EULA change, if people chose not to accept it then it would have inhibited their ability to play future games, which would have disenfranchised them.

Some people, however, decided it was better to just try to modify the system to get around Sony's changes. I guess we'll see how that works out for them.

[Heartnet]

Hmm Yes although u are right..

the ToA/ToS could say they have the right to invade your home lol funny if they did no1 reads the bloody thing anyhow :P

[Audioslave88]

Sony probably know themselves that they can't win this case. They maybe just trying to delay his endeavours. Maybe sony has a plan in mind....

[Loner]

Sony are desperate

[spektical]

sony isnt gonna win this. just drop it and go with an out of court settlement with the kid. I say hiring him, as a system "hack" inspector would be in order.

edit : security analyst.

[thedisagreefairy]

obama should hire bin laden as a home security expert then. i like your logic ;)

[Eamon]

That doesn't work because Bin Laden isn't educated in providing security for a country lol.

Software security is completely different to homeland security, mate.

It is simply mathematics and cryptography. Which is what fail0verthrow and geohot are good at. Bin Laden has no idea about preserving the security of ordinary civilians lol.

I like your logic ;)

[SoSLy]

LOL... I heard this comment before from a different person weeks before, the comment got a tons of agrees lol.. lmao at the comment steal

[Heartnet]

@Eamon yeh but nobody can kill Bin Laden so in that degree he has awesome security and after all this time i bet he knows what he is doing :P

Although yeh.. i dont like him :P

[TronEOL]

Although I do agree that would be the smartest course of action at the moment, I don't think that sets a good impression on how the world should be run. It just means everyone should submit under the idea that someone can ruin you with the click of a button. AKA, power through fear.

I think the PROPER course of action is to create laws that make this kind of shady work illegal. Then if these guys want a job with these companies, they should go to school and ask for a job like the other 99.9% of the world have to.

We rioted when we had no rights, and took away the rights of the big corporations and now we're taking advantage of what those rights are. I think it's purely and completely unfair.

[SnakeMustDie]

If Sony hires him, it just encourages hackers to break into systems in hopes of getting hired by a big corporation.

[Goaliegeek]

Wish the hacks could be dismissed. MW2 is unplayable.

[cochise313]

MW2 has been unplayable since it released.

[Goaliegeek]

True. But now it's BAD. Played maybe 5 rounds with my buddy last night. 3 of the 5 rounds were hacked.

[TronEOL]

Remember back when he first hacked the PS3, Sony counter-acted by not allowing those minor hacks to be allowed to connect to the PSN, but the GeoHotz created a way to get passed that? IF he indeed was the one who did that, he had to create a PSN to show, or even learn, how to get passed Sony's blocks.

Therefore, even if the account he DID create wasn't under his name, he still press "X" on Agree to terms of service. No hacker willingly puts their name in their account that they are hacking the PSN/3 with. Dammit, Sony, THINK.

[Look_Behind]

I dont think they can catch him. Unless they have cameras in his room that is. He could just say that his little sister signed up or somthing.

[radphil]

That would still be lying in court...

which is bad.

[jneul]

I just hope they ban all the cheaters who are ruining online first the people only using it for homebrew are not doing much harm, and the pirates may just be running their own games off their hdd for all we know, but some will be playing copied versions, copied games never hurt ps1, or ps2 but it may hurt ps3 because of high development costs people need to think about this before doing piracy
as for george get your eye off hacking psp2, you caused all this trouble, don't you ever learn hackz == piracy it's always the way, so far 0% otheros, 100% piracy and cheats spin that if you must

[EverydayGuy]

This is what wrong with Sony, you don't hire lawyers, you hire ninja's instead.

[BigBoss07]

Ninja's with guns. ;)

[Mister_G]

Lol! :)

[Mister_G]

If I were Sony I'd just embed some code into all new games which checks for CFW, and if found either crashes the game/console, or bricks the console :)

[Look_Behind]

That would be illegal. Bricking it would be.

[paranoid1971]

"That would be illegal". But you condone piracy? prick

[ziggurcat]

and there would be no case against sony, considering that the law would have already been broken by the plaintiff.

[hennessey86]

the ramifications of this hack. Im sure im not the only one who has credit card details stored on psn, think about it there could be some serious people out there who will use this hack for more than gaming.

[rodeoo]

This hack does not give you administrative rights on the psn. But nice try

[MrBeatdown]

He never said it did. He only said that people could use the hack for more than homebrew and piracy. I can't imagine it being awfully difficult to develop a custom firmware that would be able to obtain and transmit your email, password, and credit card info as you type it in.

[clindiesel]

True but you gotta think every system or electronic device has been hacked.so I would not worry to much,but it is something to be looking for.

[LoneWanderer09]

If Geo wins this case, Sony will do something to try and block against Piracy (if you pirate games, you should not have the guts to look in a mirror)

[UP]

Guys stop acting like lawyers guys. You are not lawyers your as much as a lawyer as charlie kelly is.

[Edito]

How many of you have multiple PSN accounts??? it doesn't mean that you live in all those places tsc... Hotz will have what he deserves...

[OGharryjoysticks]

Right. Whatever info I used to sign up here at N4G is another example.

I'm sure I used a bogus email, address, name, and shoe size