Yesterday we reported that the jury trial for the case of Matthew Crippen had been delayed, after the presiding judge took 30 minutes to lecture the prosecution.
Today, the prosecution has dismissed the case, after just hours, “based on fairness and justice.”
Prosecutor Allen Chiu says: “The government has decided to dismiss the indictment.”
Crippen was on trial for allegedly modding Xbox 360 consoles to be able to play pirated games and homebrew.
U.S. District Judge Philip Gutierrez started the trial off yesterday with a 30-minute rant complaining about the prosecution and the government’s case, with his main concerns being the prosecution’s “star” witnesses.
The two witnesses in the case had both potentially broken the law, making them less credible. The first,Entertainment Software Association investigator Tony Rosario, had video of Crippen modding consoles in his home in L.A. Those videos, however, were taped secretly, in violation of California’s strict privacy laws.
Microsoft security employee Ken McGrail was the second witness, the man who analyzed the consoles that were seized from Crippen’s home. McGrail, however, had admitted under oath to modifying the original Xbox and the Xbox 360 back when he was in college.
Crippen was charged with two counts of breaking the anti-circumvention provisions of the DMCA and faced up to 10 years in prison.
The 28-year-old says he will finally be able to go back to school, needing just one more year to get his degree from Cal State Fullerton.
Result for: xbox 360 consoles
According to a new Digitimes report, Aptina Imaging has been selected as the exclusive supplier for CMOS sensors to be used in Microsoft’s Project Natal motion sensor system that will be bundled with Xbox 360 consoles.
The report also adds that a new Xbox 360 that will include Natal will be ready to ship by the Q3 2010.
Electronista adds that “to meet demand for the Xbox 360 game controller, Aptina plans on upping capacity at its fabrication facility in Italy that makes 8-inch wafers and look for a partner in another foundry.”
Natal is a technology that uses camera sensors to track movements made by users which is then translated to the video game playback. No controller needed.
You can learn more here: Project Natal
Result for: xbox 360 consoles
Microsoft spokesman David Bowermaster has noted that the software giant has settled a patent infringement lawsuit relating to multiplayer online through the Xbox 360.
The lawsuit had been brought forward by PalTalk, and the plaintiff wanted over $90 million USD in royalties. The case was settled out of court for an undisclosed sum.
The case ended in an “amicable agreement” however, says Microsoft.
“The parties have settled the case, and PalTalk is quite pleased with the outcome,” added Max Tribble, a PalTalk lawyer.
PalTalk told the courts last week that “the Halo franchise as well as both the original Xbox and Xbox 360 consoles made use of patents owned by PalTalk.”
GI.biz explains that the patents in question “were said to cover ways in which multiple computers could interact with each other, specifically for use in multiplayer games, which Microsoft had dismissed the claims as being for outmoded dial-up connections, adding “the patents don’t cover the way the Halo games work.”
