GeoHot's Lawyer Responds to Sony's Claims

[beema]

So, didn't Sony just commit libel/slander or something? Come on, this is absurd.

 

[Echo136]

He's still a jerk, begging for money from people to pay for his laywer and low and behold he has enough money to take a vacation to South America which should be used for his defense.

 

[TheAmazingHobo]

So, if what Kellar and Hotz said in response is all true, it appears that Sony has very good lawyers who are extremely adept at manipulating language to paint the defendant in the worst possible light.

OR, and that is just an alternate proposition, most media outlets who covered this story are really BAD at their job, reporting with sensationalist headlines, intented to draw traffic.
Just, you know, as an explanation that does not try to include an automatic excuse for shoddy journalism.......

 

[Echo136]

If their is the one reason why I don't support him and its slightly due to how ppl view it.

OMG Sony is a big bad corporation! How dare they look out for themselves? I mean shouldn't all companies look out for everyone elses need?

Yes this is exactly how I feel! Everyone immediately jumps up and says- "Sony is a big corporation and they are suing this guy? What an awful thing to do! He didnt even have the money to defend himself he- ... what do you mean he did something wrong? Well I dont care, this is a david vs. goliath kind of situation here, and we must support david!"

I hope Sony goes to town on this guy.

Thank you! Finally someone with some sense in their head.

 

[LastDarkness]

OMG save us from the hackers sony, your our only hope.

 

[Dogstile]

I don't get the problem. He modded/tampered with the console, that breaks the user agreement, he has opened the console to piracy. In what way is he not guilty?

*sigh* because unless you sign the agreement before you buy the console it doesn't count.

 

[VanityGirl]

I don't get the problem. He modded/tampered with the console, that breaks the user agreement, he has opened the console to piracy. In what way is he not guilty?

User agreements are not legally binding. This has been proven time and time again.
GeoHot tampered with his console to make it more open, he has never pirated a game and doesn't condone piracy. I see him as the good guy in this scenario.

 

[MGlBlaze]

I retract the statement I gave in the previous update.

Y'know what? I don't like either of them any more. Especially not Sony.

Urgh, I don't know if I should route for either of them any more, let alone which one.

 

[Waif]

GeoHotz shouldn't have went to SA anyway. Doing so has only provided the impression that he is not taking this court thing seriously. It doesn't matter to me that the trip may or may not have been planned long in advance, it's more that the court case should take precedence in ones life. I had thought that there were sanctions against leaving the country if you were in court for something, but I guess I had that idea wrong.

 

[Jumwa]

If there is one thing lawyers are good at, it would definitely be defaming someone.

Too true.

If you or someone you know has ever been the target of a lawyer trying to defame your character in court, you'd probably find it terribly hard to buy into one doing it to another person. They find ways to twist the most innocent of things around to make you sound like a horrible person.

 

[afroforce69]

i love the way sony's legal entire legal department is going to shatter Hotz his case.

 

[Jumwa]

GeoHotz shouldn't have went to SA anyway. Doing so has only provided the impression that he is not taking this court thing seriously. It doesn't matter to me that the trip may or may not have been planned long in advance, it's more that the court case should take precedence in ones life. I had thought that there were sanctions against leaving the country if you were in court for something, but I guess I had that idea wrong.

He is NOT accused of a criminal offense.

This case isn't a criminal case. It's a civil one. People seem to be treating this as if the guy is accused of murder.

He hasn't put his life on hold over it? No shocker. Why would you? It's not as if he faces jail time. If his trip was planned since before the case, cancelling it would've meant he'd probably have lost all his money put into the trip anyhow for no reason, and wouldn't have gotten a relaxing break from the stress of being sued by a large corporation.

 

[Jumplion]

Know what? I'm not going to mope about this any more. This is just turning into one helluvah circus ride.

"She said what? Oh no she didn't!"
"Oh yes I did girlfriend, you don't even want to mess with this hotness!"
"Pfft whatever sister!"

As interesting as this whole situation has been, I am starting to run out of popcorn, I'll have to go buy some more

*digs into his pocket and gives you $20*

I gotta be honest, I have to help a fellow spectator. Too many people taking extreme sides and not looking for a common solution like I introduced in one thread

Hand me a 5, I'll get some nachos.

 

[Jamous]

This actually made me incredibly happy; I was quite pissed off at GeoHot when he apparently 'fled'. I'm very glad to find otherwise.

 

[Valanthe]

I can't help but think of the Line from the Alien Vs. Predator ads when I see this case:

"Whoever wins, we're screwed."

If Sony wins, we're going to see more invasive DRM and anti-piracy tools that punish the consumer who had the audacity to buy something.

But if Hotz wins then piracy will likely climb, I don't think that it'll skyrocket like some think, but it'll definitely increase as companies lose a way to fight back against it.

-sigh- hopefully someone will offer some kind of compromise. It'll never happen, I know, but I can still hold onto that little spark of optimism, right?

 

[sleeky01]

There really is only one solution to this travesty. Congress needs to pass a law that before a corporation can bring a claim against an individual the corporation has to scientifically prove economic damages from the individual's actions. Otherwise the system will continue to be abused.

I'll admit, I haven't been paying too close attention to this, but there is one tiny thing. Some people have been using the key (provided by GeoHot) to play pirated games and utilize Sony's PSN servers in a way they agreed not to with Sony in the EULA. Thus, Sony has evidence of damages. The real question is "Is GeoHot liable for these damages?"

As far as I've been able to tell from the little I've read of this, he's not liable. As long as all he did was release the way to unlock the PS3 he should be in the legal clear. The release of information is not considered a crime, unless it is nationally sensitive data.

As an analogy, if someone released the KFC recipe for Fried Chicken and KFC lost major money as people started making it on their own instead of eating there, the individual who released the recipe would not be liable (in my understanding). If s/he was an employee (had a contract with KFC), s/he would likely be fired and charged according to the terms of the contract. If s/he utilized illegal methods to get a hold of it (breaking/entering, hacking, etc.) then s/he is liable for the crime committed, but not for releasing the information itself.

Again, this is only a slightly informed opinion, and I could definitely be entirely wrong, but I think GeoHot is mostly in the clear as long he stops being/doesn't start being stupid.

Captcha: Panes Inany

Hmm, so if an employee of Sony released this key he/she would be penalized under whatever non dis-closer agreement said employee signed when hired.

But if someone not affiliated with Sony at all back engineered it then it's ok?

Just looking for clarification.

 

[sleeky01]

I don't get the problem. He modded/tampered with the console, that breaks the user agreement, he has opened the console to piracy. In what way is he not guilty?

User agreements are not legally binding. This has been proven time and time again.
GeoHot tampered with his console to make it more open, he has never pirated a game and doesn't condone piracy. I see him as the good guy in this scenario.

There's another wrinkle I can't get my head around. If Geohot is being sued for tampering with his PS3 which is supposedly against the EULA, Then shouldn't this guy be making an apperance in court soon as well?

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/108643-Kinect-Hacked-to-Work-With-PS3

 

[Raeil]

Hmm, so if an employee of Sony released this key he/she would be penalized under whatever non dis-closer agreement said employee signed when hired.

But if someone not affiliated with Sony at all back engineered it then it's ok?

Just looking for clarification.

I haven't taken any courses in Contract Law, so this is from a layman's point of view. The employee is under a legal contract not to release proprietary information, but I don't think a consumer purchasing a product is bound by any contract unless there is a purchase agreement. Even in that case, that's a signed contract, which s/he would be forced to read before purchasing. Hopefully someone can correct me if I'm incorrect, and as more evidence comes to light in the actual legal fight we should be able to get a better understanding of this whole mess.

Edit: Added quote since someone else posted before me.

 

[Orry]

Raeil, that's pretty much right, and in some jurisdictions EULA's and the like aren't enforceable due to them being non-negotiable and in some cases not being able to be viewed until after purchase.