Sony settles with George Hotz

SCEA have announced that they have reached a settlement with George "GeoHot" Hotz after suing Mr Hotz for publishing online exploits for the PlayStation 3 in which SCEA claimed this could be used to circumvent the security system in the console and allow the playing of pirated videogames.

Sony and Hotz reportedly settled out of court on March 31, 2011 and as part of the settlement, Hotz consented to a permanent injunction.

"Sony is glad to put this litigation behind us," said Riley Russell, General Counsel for SCEA. "Our motivation for bringing this litigation was to protect our intellectual property and our consumers. We believe this settlement and the permanent injunction achieve this goal."

"It was never my intention to cause any users trouble or to make piracy easier," said Hotz, "I'm happy to have the litigation behind me."

"We want our consumers to be able to enjoy our devices and products in a safe and fun environment and we want to protect the hard work of the talented engineers, artists, musicians and game designers who make PlayStation games and support the PlayStation Network," added Russell. "We appreciate Mr. Hotz's willingness to address the legal issues involved in this case and work with us to quickly bring this matter to an early resolution."