PS3 hack court case delayed, jurisdiction questioned
Sony's claim against hacker Georgen "geohot" Hotz will have to find another day in court, as a trial has been delayed due to questions of where the case should physically be held. Currently, the case is being reviewed in San Francisco, but district court judge Susan Illston raised questions as to whether the case should be tried in California or New Jersey, where Hotz resides. Sony's lawyers have argued that, because the hack was distributed via Twitter and YouTube (both based in California), the case should continue. In addition, Hotz supposedly received donations via PayPal, another California-based institution.
"If having a PayPal account were enough, then there would be personal jurisdiction in this court over everybody, and that just can't be right," Illston responded.
The case is delayed pending further discussions over jurisdiction, a decision Sony is likely to frown upon. Given the free availability of the hack online, it's in the company's best interest to try and secure a victory as quickly as possible -- even if it means little can be done to stop the proliferation of the hack.
Update [1/24/11]: Some of the court documents have been posted on PSX-SCENE, providing greater detail of the two sides' arguments over jurisdiction.
[Image source: G4]
