PS3 hacker: "It's about whether you really own that device you purchased"

George 'Geohot' Hotz, one of the people responsible for the recent PlayStation 3 security breach, has claimed his actions will ultimately be deemed legal in the case brought against him by Sony.

"Right now, still legally, you can go to my website and download my Jailbreak for your PS3," he told G4TV's Attack of the Show.

"What it lets you do is install homebrew applications, which have been developed by anyone. You can develop your own application or go download some and put them on your Jailbroken PS3."

He believes his earlier iPhone jailbreak being allowed by the courts under the DMCA sets a precedent for the PlayStation case.

"Currently the difference is the DMCA says specifically mobile phones, but the same precedent should apply. If they decide a phone is a closed system, where the manufacturer controls all the software that runs on it.. If you can Jailbreak one closed system, why can't you Jailbreak another?

Hotz felt that, were he to win the case, it could open the door to more legally-permissible console hacking. "This case is about a lot more than what I did and me. It's about whether you really own that device that you purchased."

Hotz also claimed that his hack will not allow the running of bootlegged games. "The way piracy was previously done doesn't work in my Jailbreak. I made a specific effort while I was working on this to try to enable homebrew without enabling things I do not support, like piracy."

The reason he was being sued, he claimed, was simply for "making Sony mad."

Confirming that he had hired two layers to help him fight back, he commented that "the adrenaline is definitely flowing. It's exciting, it's scary at the same time."