Jurisdiction Concerns Hold Up PS3 Hacker Case

Sony's lawsuit against PlayStation 3 hacker George Hotz has hit a snag. The company wants to hold the case in a Californian court, but San Francisco district court judge Susan Illston is a bit confused as to why.

Hotz's breaching of the PS3 security mechanisms was conducted in his home state of New Jersey, Judge Illston noted, meaning any legal hearings should be made there. But Sony argues that the hack was revealed via Twitter and Youtube, whilst donations to Hotz was received via Paypal - all services hosted in California.

"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," Judge Illston said. "That would mean the entire universe is subject to my jurisdiction, and that's a really hard concept for me to accept."

The uncertainty has led the case's initial hearing to be pushed back to an unspecified date.

Via GI