Sony’s lawsuit against George Hotz picked up a new twist this week. In a filing dated March 18, Sony Computer Entertainment America told the federal court in California that the 21 year old hacker, better known online as geohot, is currently in South America. The same filing makes fresh allegations about his impounded computer equipment and about whether he ever signed up for the PlayStation Network. These are Sony’s claims, made inside an active case, and the court has not ruled on any of them.
Some background for anyone who has not been following along. Sony sued Hotz in January after he published the PS3’s root key along with tools that let the console run unsigned code. The company argues that distributing that work breaks the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act because it opens the door to pirated games. Hotz, who first made his name unlocking the iPhone, has said publicly that he does not support piracy.
Sony Says Hard Drive Parts Were Removed
Earlier in the case, Magistrate Judge Spero ordered an inspection of Hotz’s devices, which were handed to a neutral third party, and ordered him to sit for a deposition in California. According to Game Informer’s report on the filing, Sony now says Hotz “deliberately removed integral components of his impounded hard drives” before turning them over. Sony says it found out he was abroad while discussing those missing parts with his attorney, and it claims the trip is being used as a reason the components cannot be produced right away.
The language in the filing is pointed. As quoted by NBC News in its coverage, Sony wrote that “Hotz’s attempts to dodge this Court’s authority raise very serious questions.”
Sony Points To A PSN Account In Glen Rock
The PlayStation Network piece matters because much of the current fight is about where the case belongs. Hotz lives in New Jersey and has asked the court to dismiss the suit, arguing that California lacks personal jurisdiction over him and is the wrong venue. Part of his position, set out in a sworn declaration, is that he never created a PSN account and so never accepted its user agreement, which includes a clause in which users consent to jurisdiction in California.
Sony disputes that account of events. According to the filing as described by GamesBeat in its writeup of the motion, one PS3 that Hotz identified as his own was used on March 10, 2010 to register a PSN account under the name blickmanic, from an IP address in Glen Rock, New Jersey, where Hotz lives. Sony says that console was bought on February 25, 2010 at a GameStop store a few miles from his home. The company argues this contradicts his declaration and places him under the agreement’s California clause. Sony also says at least 13,300 unique internet addresses in California alone downloaded his tools from his website, part of its broader argument that the case has strong ties to the state.
None of this has been tested yet. The judge has not ruled on Hotz’s motion to dismiss, and Sony’s description of the hard drive situation and the PSN registration is, for now, one side of a contested argument. Hotz has not publicly answered the new filing as of this writing, and we will update readers when he or his legal team responds.