Prosecutors Seek to Block 'Bunnie' (Andrew Huang) from 360 Modding Trial

Celebrity geek Andrew “Bunnie” Huang, the designer of the Chumby and author of the 2003 title Hacking the 'Xbox: An Introduction to Reverse Engineering', has agreed to testify for a southern California man charged under the anti-circumvention provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

The defendant in the case, 28-year-old Matthew Crippen of Anaheim, allegedly ran a business modding Xbox 360s for between $60 and $80 a pop. He was charged after he performed the silicon surgery for an undercover corporate security investigator with the Entertainment Software Association, then again for an undercover ICE agent. He faces up to three years in prison if convicted of both counts.

But if federal prosecutors have their way, the scheduled Nov. 30 trial in Los Angeles won’t include Huang’s testimony. Prosecutors earlier this month asked the judge presiding over the case to preclude Huang from testifying on the grounds that his testimony would be legally irrelevant. The government says fair use is not a defense (.pdf) to a DMCA charge, and argues that Huang’s legal opinions are inadmissible. A ruling is pending.


http://www.xbox-scene.com/xbox1data/...pZdkmUPnOO.php