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

[ZephrC]

Hey, guess what guys! I know it's hard to tell the difference sometimes, but Sony Computer Entertainment of America isn't actually the law yet! That means he doesn't have to obey them if he isn't even aware of their existence. Funny how that works.

Still I gotta give the guy some credit. It takes pretty huge balls to lie under oath like that.

 

[ThisIsSnake]

Is it really in his best interests to prolong this case, unless he's specifically aiming to go to court with a homeless man who got the job of his lawyer by owning his own briefcase to save money.

 

[iliekmudkips]

Hey, guess what guys! I know it's hard to tell the difference sometimes, but Sony Computer Entertainment of America isn't actually the law yet! That means he doesn't have to obey them if he isn't even aware of their existence. Funny how that works.

Still I gotta give the guy some credit. It takes pretty huge balls to lie under oath like that.

Someone hasnt noticed that, Ya know, he mentions on half of his blogs "SCEA".

It's kinda hard to feign ignorance when you've already posted in every blog you have and their mothers about "oh hey derp im going to take down SCEA derpderpderp". The sad part is he doesnt even REALIZE this.

Dont get me wrong, I used to love hotz. I even donated a good 50 bucks for a "pure" cause. But the second I heard he ran away to South America was the second I started calling my lawyer. All my respect has been gone, plus pretty much every cent to my name (I'm a very very poor person)And, well, I want it back. Well, not really, I just want to pour salt in the wounds.

 

[Glademaster_v1legacy]

I love how people are calling this tactic silly. This is exactly how courts work. Yes the argument is idiotic but this a court preceding as long as one person can convince the jury their stupid argument is true then they win. Sad but true.

 

[CrazyCapnMorgan]

And the struggle continues...

Personally, I'd like to see Sony told to "bugger off" at the end of all of this.

Spoiler: Until then, I have an anthem for Mr. Hotz...

 

[Asehujiko]

Hey, guess what guys! I know it's hard to tell the difference sometimes, but Sony Computer Entertainment of America isn't actually the law yet! That means he doesn't have to obey them if he isn't even aware of their existence. Funny how that works.

Still I gotta give the guy some credit. It takes pretty huge balls to lie under oath like that.

Fun fact: this isn't about knowing whether SCEA exists but if it exists as an independent corporate entity completely separate from Sony. Which is something I didn't know until I read this article.

This is relevant because Sony would either have to sue him in Japan(which tends to tell corporations to go fuck themselves when they present an EULA of dubious validity as a law) or New Jersey(which is also much less biased) instead of the SCEA's home of California(which has a law basically going "if you are sued by a company, you are guilty of wasting their time and time is money so pay the fuck up already").

 

[KingsGambit_v1legacy]

While this whole argument is idiotic, i still find the fact that picking a State in US law can pretty much win or loose you the case. That's the most idiotic law system ever invented and even with such ignorant excuses, it well deserves to be abused. Just decide on one law and get over it rather than trying to choose the 'best' judge for your case.

You may be missing one crucial thing here. The US in USA stands for "United States". It is not a single country like Canada is for example but is effectively fifty separate "countries", each with their own laws and by-laws. They are however united and share some common laws, a common currency, common armed forces and so on.

A state with enough people could if they chose decide not to be a part of the US. States vary on the death penalty, age on consent, tax rates and social welfare, driving test requirements and so on. The US is not one country but a Union of 50 separate ones, like the Federation in Star Trek is many planets, how the United Kingdom is 4 separate countries, the European Union is made up of all the European countries, etc.

On original subject, I hope Geohot gets away with it because he's this generations foremost hax0r. The problem I would have with him trying to let that excuse fly is that he's a damned genius and knows Sony, Apple and their hardware/firmware inside and out and top to bottom. There's zero chance someone with that intelligence didn't realise Sony America existed.

 

[dietpeachsnapple]

I keep manuals and boxes because I am a pack rat. I do not read them. Ignorance is plausible.

Anyone I plan to make an enemy, however, I study meticulously: knowing their many names would be a good start.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_Corporation_shareholders_and_subsidiaries#Major_Holdings.2FSubsidiaries

and maybe

http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/CorporateInfo/History/SonyHistory/1-10.html

You do know ignorance of the law is not an excuse for breaking it right? Just because you chose not to read them does not make you any less liable if you break the rules.

I am quite aware. I am replying to those who question his ability to be ignorant, not the validity of ignorance as a legal defense.

Ah, misread your post a bit. Well that's what I get for not paying attention.

No worries. Thank you for your polite and poignant interjection.

 

[Woodsey]

Actually, this is a good thing for him, because that is true. Feigning ignorance is playing by typical court rules and sony are being complete assholes about this court case so far.

I'm pretty sure claiming you didn't know something isn't exactly a defence that's going to hold up for very long.

And Sony are being arse holes? Heaven forbid they would want to protect their own products and investments.

 

[QuadFish]

I actually find that pretty believable. People who are that tech-savvy usually don't bother with manuals or standard documentation at all. So I could believe that he just saw "Sony" and thought of it as one mega-entity.

I'm sure I couldn't say with 100% certainty that you could all name every subsidiary of 2K (I definitely can't).

 

[chinangel]

the loophole is very silly, yet I want him to succeed.

 

[Cap'n Moe]

what a bonehead...Pretty bad when a majority of the interwebz doesn't even believe you.

 

[tahrey]

seriously ... is he really going for that line, is it the only defence he can use or something?

even I know about SCEA / SCEE etc. Heck, I haven't had so much chance to pay attention to the PS3 startup screen (seems every time I get near one either it's a/ already on, b/ turned on before the tv is, c/ having video mode problems that can only be fixed half-blind), but the "local" company title was certainly plastered over the start screens of the PS1 and PS2.

I mean, I support the guy and his aims, but come on. Down that road failure lies.

 

[DonJavo]

Ignorance of the law is not a defense for breaking the law.

Or in this case, ignorance of the contract you've accepted by purchasing a PS3 is not a defense for breaking the contract. (Doesn't have the same ring)

Because Sony has done everything in its power to help have the consumer understand that Sony has an American branch in California, jurisdiction has thus been established. Any self-respecting judge will see this and throw out this hackers argument of never knowing SCEA existed.

This should be a throw away case in Sony's favor since Hotz broke the terms of agreement by hacking the PS3 in this manner, but because he is trying to this legal dance this case keeps going on. This kid wants to play a battle of attrition with a global corporation, who do you think has the funds to keep dragging this out? Do I hear settlement?

 

[MationMac]

So he applied for a job in Japan with Japaneese people and everything written in Japaneese?
And even i know of SCEA and SCEE.

 

[Thyunda]

...I didn't know SCEA existed, if it helps. I always figured Sony were Japanese. I thought they'd have a branch in America somewhere, but that was just common sense talking.

Ignorance of the law is not a defense for breaking the law.

Or in this case, ignorance of the contract you've accepted by purchasing a PS3 is not a defense for breaking the contract. (Doesn't have the same ring)

Because Sony has done everything in its power to help have the consumer understand that Sony has an American branch in California, jurisdiction has thus been established. Any self-respecting judge will see this and throw out this hackers argument of never knowing SCEA existed.

This should be a throw away case in Sony's favor since Hotz broke the terms of agreement by hacking the PS3 in this manner, but because he is trying to this legal dance this case keeps going on. This kid wants to play a battle of attrition with a global corporation, who do you think has the funds to keep dragging this out? Do I hear settlement?

Need I remind you that to assume everybody is aware of the contract settled when purchasing a 'child's plaything' is a joke? How many people are aware of the entire terms and conditions? How many mothers read it before they buy it for their children? This is not the same as an instated law for the protection of the population, this is a legal contract, whose conditions apply when the consumer is aware of them. If you go out of your way to hide these conditions, say, to hide SCEA in the manual somewhere, you are automatically void for attempted deception. I haven't read the manual for my Xbox 360. I don't plan to, either. Manuals are for setup. Not for legal bindings.

 

[Doclector]

I don't believe him, but as said in the article, if there is no evidence, then there's not much of a case.

This man is either a genius, or a madman.

 

[Macgyvercas]

In the words of the jaegermonsters "he iz a schmot guy".

I love you for that reference.

OT: This is starting to get very silly. Can we go back to not caring now?