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View Full Version : Sony moves to dismiss "Other OS" lawsuits!



wraggster
April 4th, 2011, 22:42
News via http://psx-scene.com/forums/f6/sony-moves-dismiss-other-os-lawsuits-84481/

As 'scene' developers are finding ways to 'return' Linux to Jailbroken PS3 Consoles, that Sony forcely removed from all Consoles last year, Sony has decided to use the 1st year Anniversary of this sad event, to move the courts to dismiss the 'Other OS' lawsuits that had been filed by 'legit' PS3 owners!


One of the 'legal' grounds that Sony seems to be using is the wonderful new 'ToS' that also had recently forced down PSN owners with the switchover to 'SNEA', read more from extracts from the 'Groklaw' site:


Quote:
There’s news from the class action litigation, In re Sony PS3 ‘Other OS’ Litigation, where the plaintiffs are suing Sony Computer Entertainment America for removing OtherOS from Playstation 3s. SCEA has filed another motion to dismiss (http://www.groklaw.net/pdf2/SonyClassAction-168.pdf) [PDF] the class action case, once again saying that the plaintiffs’ newly filed First Amended Complaint (http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20110311112544990) is insufficient to state a claim. The original complaint’s claims, except for one, were dismissed, with the judge giving the plaintiffs a chance to refile. Now that they have, SCEA says this refiled complaint should be tossed out also. There will be a hearing on all this on May 12th.

And the class action plaintiffs are asking the judge (http://www.groklaw.net/pdf2/SonyClassAction-169.pdf) [PDF] to help them get discovery that SCEA is, they claim, reluctant to provide. Role reversal. In the SCEA v. Hotz (http://www.groklaw.net/staticpages/index.php?page=SonyHotz) litigation, SCEA is all about discovery, all they can get. Here, it’s the opposite.

There is a transcript from a February 9th hearing in the Sony class action attached as an exhibit (http://www.groklaw.net/pdf2/SonyClassAction-169-1.pdf) to the plaintiffs’ letter to the judge in the case, and I think you’ll be amazed. Would you like to know what SCEA’s lawyers think of customers who use Linux? We get to find out, because the hearing begins with SCEA asking the judge for access to the plaintiffs’ hard drives. Why would you want that, the judge asks? These are not defendants accused of anything, remember. Sony is the one in the hot seat, but here is the incredible answer: because, says their attorney, these plaintiffs say they used Linux, so SCEA suspects they were part of a hacking conspiracy, and they’d like to check. There’s more, and I’ll tell you all about it.

And SCEA claims in the transcript that it wasn’t the entity that decided to drop OtherOS. It says in this courtroom that Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. is responsible for that decision. In Hotz, SCEA says it is responsible for pretty much everything to do with PS3s in the US, or at least I got that impression. SCEA also tells the judge at the hearing that there’s been a change in the corporate setup. SCEI isn’t the parent of SCEA any more. So I did a little research on that. Who are they then? And how how were they related? I have found some press releases that clarify very nicely.
The 'bad part' that makes you do a 'double-take' is the part that Sony wants to look at all the HDD's from those that filed the 'Other OS lawsuits' claiming maybe they are part of a bigger 'hacker conspiracy'! http://psx-scene.com/forums/images/smilies/evilgrin.gif

At least thanks to hard effort Graf_Chokolo Linux has made a 'come-back', all tho since we don't own our PS3 Consoles thanks to the new 'ToS' by Sony, we are at the mercy of being 'sued' or 'worse' if we play around with the 'coreOS' to get back features that Sony originally SOLD us when we BOUGHT our PS3 from the store!

News Source: Groklaw - SCEA Files Motion to Dismiss Class Action Again, More Discovery Disputes, Plus a Revealing Transcript Surfaces (http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20110402000830503)