PS3 hack ban upheld by court as free version released

Sony's battle to block the distribution of a hack for its PlayStation 3 (PS3) has been won in an Australian court but lost on the internet. The court ruled on Friday that a ban on distribution of the PSJailbreak "dongle", first issued on 27 August, would be made permanent. However, on Thursday the software code behind a similar hack was released free on the internet as PSGroove. The hacks allow homemade games to be played on the console. While the PSGroove software was specifically designed not to allow the playing of pirated games, as PSJailbreak does, it has already been modified by other hackers to permit the practice. Also on Friday, it emerged that Sony had filed a US lawsuit against Zoomba, the firm that runs shopPSjailbreak.com, a site selling the device. The lawsuits specifically name the PSJailbreak device - software loaded onto a USB data stick - but reports have surfaced that the device has been replicated and could soon be widely available through other vendors. Sony declined to comment on the court cases or the release of the open-source code.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-11176441