Geohot Claims He's Never Heard of Sony Computer Entertainment of America

[JordanMillward_1]

I don't know about America, but in the UK I'm damn sure that wouldn't fly. Ignorance doesn't shield you from the law. If Sony provided those manuals, it's his responsibility to read them.

Actually, in terms of jurisdiction, this might well fly in the UK if you were unable to prove that the defendant is lying (I'm currently covering International Commercial Law in my law post-grad ).

Everyone seems to be mistaking the use of ignorance as evidence for proving which country/state has jurisdiction for using ignorance of the law as a defence against the actual charges in the actual court case. The actual case hasn't started yet, and he's not using ignorance as a defence against the charges against him, he's using it as evidence as to why California doesn't have jurisdiction. For this part, ignorance is perfectly usable.

It's a brilliantly clever tactic, if he pulls it off. Otherwise it's just going to add another charge to the list against him.

I hope he wins, because Sony suck.

 

[Enkidu88]

It sounds stupid on paper, but it's almost impossible to prove that it's not true, which is probably why his lawyers are pursuing it.

 

[Dastardly]

Permalink

I don't see this line of reasoning going where they think it's going. It's a stall tactic, not an escape hatch.

 

[zehydra]

I always assumed that it existed (like Nintendo of America and things like that), although I've never actually heard of the name "Sony Computer Entertainment of America". Although, I don't own any Sony products at all, so this is somewhat understandable.

A person such as GeoHot who spends his time inundated in all things Sony, you'd think he'd be aware of its existence.

 

[JordanMillward_1]

I realized that I had never seen that rap video before, so I looked it up. Guess what I noticed in his video description?

Hint: circled in red.

---------------

Owned.

Well he obviously knows they exist now, but what they need to prove is that he knew they existed at the time he carried out the hacking, not that he knows of them after that.

 

[aeroblaster]

Remember when Nintendo killed an Australian man who uploaded an illegal copy of New Super Mario Bros Wii for others to pirate? Yeah it was pretty bad.
(why I say he was killed is because they sued him for $1.5 million, which is more than an average man can make in a lifetime, and he actually died being unable to pay for food, medicine, etc.)

So yeah, now whenever I see a company suing a regular person, I always root for the guy, no matter how bad he seems. (corporations > evil)

 

[2xDouble]

I still find myself asking "so what?". What does jurisdiction have to do with anything? How does feigning ignorance with "I didn't know SCEA existed and was based in California" help establish jurisdiction? (It does and it is. Ignorance doesn't change those facts, jackass.) Isn't this is a breach of contract and corporate espionage case? What the hell is either of them trying to accomplish at this point? Why do we still care about this ridiculous court battle?

Screw them both. Convict the douche for corporate espionage (4-7 year sentence, minimum security with a chance for parole after 2, and community service after release) and being a douche (1 day in jail and $500 fine), fine SCEA $500,000 for making us listen to this bull, and lets move on to real issues. Sound fair?

 

[Beeple]

>.> Of course he knows who SCEA are. He's not stupid. Yes. He's lying. And why is he lying? To win a legal battle. Is it his idea? Probably not. Is he smart for going along with an idea his lawyer has probably given him. Yes.

Is he undermining the US legal system? Yes. Is he going to get away with it? Probably.
Is it difficult to undermine the US legal system because it is in fact a near perfect system? Not in the slightest.

Is it difficult to undermine any legal system? None that come to mind.

His 'ignorance' doesn't mean he hasn't commited a crime or isn't responsible for that crime. But unless SCEA can prove that he was aware of their organisation rather than Sony of Japan then the state of California has no jurisdiction over the matter. Hence there will be no actual trial.

On the other hand that screenshot in ragecandybar's post might end up being his downfall XD
Then again I would assume his ignorance would only need to be proven up to the point in which SCEA began legal proceedings.

 

[Veloxe]

Ohhh, it all makes sense now! I had always thought the A stood for Australia, not America. Silly me.

 

[Shadow-Phoenix]

I hope he crashes and burns on the grounds that he's claiming on being simply stupid.

 

[Canid117]

It seems like this trick would work even if he had heard of Sony Entertainment of America. Ignorance of the law is not a defense against it.

 

[Scorched_Cascade]

Geohot Claims He's Never Heard of Sony Computer Entertainment of America
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/edit/7.273932.10590614
And if you're wondering why Hotz kept the packaging and still-sealed manuals for the PS3 Slim he bought while everything else ended up in the garbage, the answer is simple. "Because it was pretty," he said.

Permalink

Ah the classic "Deny everything" legal defence, only just inferior to the Delete f'ing everything tactic.

I finally bothered to fire up photoshop; one sloppy bit of photo editing later and I can show what that image always make me think of:

I was trying to do it more Gambit style. I thought that would be fitting because of his current legal gambit...

 

[CheckD3]

At first this guy seemed like he was in the right, and had a legitimate case, now his attitude is just making him come across as a jerk, and since he's a gamer, it makes the community look like jerks. The same reason EA is putting us back with it's marketing is the same thing with this guy as gamers as respectable members of society who are at least dignified enough to not sound like a cocky moron

He held on to the stuff because you never know when it might be needed when you do things that are slightly controversial, he didn't see it as illegal but thought someone might. Just say that, it's the truth. The not knowing about US Sony, bullshit, don't lie, blah blah blah move on.

Hopefully this ends so he gets out of the spotlight and stops belittling gamers as a whole

 

[Sniper Team 4]

Liar. Liar liar liar. I swear, if I ever meet this man, I will hit him. Just because you CLAIM you didn't know something existed, doesn't mean that that it doesn't exist. That's just rubbish.

 

[YawningAngel]

I haven't heard of SCEA either, so it sounds fair enough to me.

 

[danhere]

I still recall "SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT AMERICA PRESENTS...CRAAAAAASH BAAAAASH!" from my childhood.

 

[OniYouji]

Am I the only one annoyed that the lawyer keeps referring to the console as the "PlayStation Computer"?