Playstation 3 Jailbreaking an Open Source of Controversy
A little over a month ago a fellow IP Brief blogger reported on a very interesting decision handed down by the Librarian of Congress granting exemptions to the DCMA. The decision was triumphantly lauded by fair use advocates and not so happily received by certain others.
So why would Apple fight so hard against this? A decision that allows pre-OS4 users to install software that lets them adjust their screen brightness and change their background image seems harmless, right? The reason Apple doesn’t want users jailbreaking their products isn’t because of the countless man-hours it took to design the iPhone’s beautiful solid black background; it’s because the same software allows users to obtain copyrighted material such as games and applications for free. Granted, not every jailbreaker is an iPhone software pirater, but every iPhone pirater is necessarily a jailbreaker.
Enter the current state of video gaming. The video game industry, despite still being treated as a sort of niche industry by the mainstream media, currently makes more money than Hollywood and is predicted to double the revenue of the music industry by next year. It comes as no surprise that an industry as big as this would be as much concerned with piracy and someone like Apple. Modification chips (or mod chips as they’re known by the tech savvy gamer) act similarly to jailbreaking an iPhone in that they allow the user greater control over the video game console than the console maker wants them to have. In many cases this control includes the ability to backup copies of copyrighted games that then leads to the illegal sharing of these copies.
Creating personal use backup copies of things you already own typically doesn’t run afoul of copyright law (think ripping a CD to your iTunes as analogous to digitally backing up a video game) so the best way big game companies can fight the piracy that they are sure stems from this use is to go after the people selling the actual mod chips. Sony, maker of the Playstation 3, was recently able to get an injunction in Australian Federal Court blocking the sale and exportation of PS3 mod chips.
Just a few days ago, however, the source code that allows the jailbreaking of the PS3 was made “open source.” This means that now anyone can use, edit, and improve the code. Much to Sony’s chagrin, this has made the outcome of the mod chip fight entirely irrelevant as now anyone with the internet and a little initiative can jailbreak their PS3 for free.
The entire situation raises more questions than it answers. Issues with patenting source code aside, where should the line be drawn in efforts to protect companies like Sony, or should it be drawn at all? Does the law need to more strictly protect the intellectual property of the most profitable entertainment industry in the country, or should loss prevention departments of console makers just have to sit idly by with the knowledge that there will always be someone, somewhere, pirating their copyrighted material? Moreover, how can we come to terms with the apparent paradox of companies needing to be protected from their own consumers? Piracy will probably always exist, but the question of what we consider fair use of a product will only get more and more important as technologies improve and so does the consumer’s ability to harvest its latent potential.
Excellent post – as a self-proclaimed jailbreaker, I do see a major difference between iOS jailbreaking and PS3 jailbreaking, but theres still a lot of gray. I presume PS3 games are upwards of 15-20 gigs a game, as they are on blu-ray disks. That kind of bandwidth seems like it would be hard to hide if illegal sites were pushing new copies of games, but maybe that’s not necessarily true.
But as per your first paragraph, I disagree with the premise that Apple doesn’t like jailbreaking because of software pirating. I think that Apple has cultivated a strong sense to consumers that their products “just work.” With jailbreaking, advanced users have the ability to customize, tweak, and add new functionality to the phone that has the potentiality make it unstable. I’ve seen some awful “themes” that make the phone look like crap, but I think everyone has the right to decide to make their sleek looking phone interface and make it look awful!
I think you’re absolutely right that Apple wants to protect the fact that what “iExperience” should be the same as everyone else using the same Apple product. However, Apple doesn’t lose any money when people customize their phone. They do lose money when jailbreakers become pirates by illegally procuring games and apps, especially considering many analysts predict that iPhone and iPad products are going to be the next big thing in the handheld gaming market.
But as I mentioned, although you need to jailbreak to pirate certainly not all jailbreakers are pirates. The line is going to have to be drawn at some point, and it seems like currently we have to either take both together or have neither.
And as for the bandwidth issues for PS3 piracy, you’re right on the money again. The problem there is, those types of illegal sites have so much support that they don’t have to hide. Most software piracy communities operate out of countries (like Sweden) where the laws are more lax making pirates more difficult to find and prosecute, but delving into an analysis of that hornet’s nest is a topic for another day.
I have a jailbroken ipod & have a ps3 that i want to jailbreak. While
What i have an issue with is this- "Granted, not every jailbreaker is an iPhone software pirater, but every iPhone pirater is necessarily a jailbreaker."
You are completely correct with this statement. I do not agree with company methods on dealing with pirates. Removing jailbreaking completely is not the right thing to do even if it solves the pirating issue. To be honest i find this a little aggrivating.
Consumers are paying hard earned money for these products yet apple & sony still want to have full control over the products. Its like going to a store & purchasing a chair, but the seller claims it is illegal to sit on it, that the chair is only for decoration/to look pretty.
Its stupid.
The bottom line is, Apple & Sony, they do not make products to supply entertainment to the consumer (even if it looks that way), they are BUSINESSES willing to do anything to gain a huge profit. i wouldnt be suprised if the iphone 5 or the ps4 were just rocks painted to look pretty & flashy.
Not only does jailbreaking allow the user to personalise their product, but with the amount of tweaks & applications made by fellow users, they can also make the product be set to fit their needs perfectly (This cant be done without jailbreaking as the companies can only go for the general populations interests & not specific people)
[...] may recall that several months ago I wrote about the implications of “jailbreaking” your PlayStation 3. Back then, the Librarian of Congress issued an [...]
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