Long-winded litigation surrounding the sudden removal of the PS3’s ability to install third-party operating systems — collectively known as OtherOS — has come to a halt. A federal judge has dismissed the class action lawsuit made against Sony in April of last year.

Sony removed the feature via a firmware update last March, amid security concerns. The preemptive response didn’t pan out well for them, but that’s beside the point. Users contested that while they could optionally choose not to install the update, this made the PS3 effectively useless for playing games or accessing PSN.

This angle did not win over the court, however. U.S. District judge Richard Seeborg ruled that the plaintiffs could not prove they had a right to expect the OS feature beyond Sony’s warranty period or continued access to the Playstation Network (PSN). In other words, the crux of the argument was flawed, since simply owning a PS3 does not guarantee access to PSN or licensed software from a legal standpoint.

Thanks, Court House News.

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