Spanish Court Rules PlayStation Jailbreaking Is Legal

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Sony has been doing everything in their power to prevent the PSJailbreak stuff from spreading in Spain, as every console manufacturer tries to do in every country they can. But, Sony’s legal efforts have been dealt a big blow this time, as a court in Barcelona has ruled that it’s legal to own, sell and use a tool that ‘jailbreaks’ your PlayStation 3.

Part of the reason the court ruled against Sony, according various Spanish language blogs, is because Sony disabled the “OtherOS” functionality earlier this year. As many readers are likely aware, the “OtherOS” feature allowed you to install a Linux OS into your PlayStation 3.

This is part of a larger argument/discussion the tech industry is having over owning/licensing something. Software companies have long tried to tell you that you don’t own that game you bought, you’re just licensing it from them. And this extends to all ends of the industry, including hardware, which is why you see Apple discouraging jailbreaking the iPhone and Sony and Microsoft cracking down on gaming console modders. Of course, piracy also plays a big role in this. Jailbreaking your PS3 also allows you to play PS3 games you download from the torrent sites.

Granted, this legal precedent only extends as far as Spain. And I imagine that jailbreaking your PS3 is still illegal in most country countries. Sony has two days (December 17th, Spain time) to appeal the decision, which I imagine they will.

What do you think? Should it be illegal to jailbreak your hardware you bought? Tell us your take on the situation in the comments section.