Judge grants Sony PS3 restraining order
updated 03:35 pm EST, Thu January 27, 2011
Judge allows restraining order against Geohot
Sony has won its request for a temporary restraining order (PDF) in its PS3 jailbreak case against Geohot and fail0verflow, despite a jurisdictional technicality. At the same time, the judge at the US District Court for the Northern District of California has allowed Sony to keep the lawsuit in San Francisco.
The restraining order forbids the jailbreak team from distributing or linking the jailbreak procedure, or encouraging others to jailbreak or hack their PS3 or PSN. They've also been ordered to turn over any computers or storage media used to create the jailbreak to Sony's lawyers.
While the injunction is a small victory for Sony, it is by definition temporary and doesn't stop anyone else from sharing the jailbreak procedure.
The hack defeats the PS3's loaders and allows for self-signatures to give apps permission to run. They would not only allow hacks that run without needing a USB stick but to quickly update signatures on unofficial code when a Sony patch tries to render the signings invalid. [via PSX-Scene]
