Remember a few weeks ago when we reported on the legal dispute between Sony and LG? The two companies have entered litigation regarding patent infringements by both sides. LG is claiming that the Blu-ray drives in PlayStation 3 consoles use four of their patents without permission; the company is seeking remuneration.
Did you give the court battle a second thought after reading that piece? No one would blame you for not doing so, but things just got ugly for Sony. LG has been awarded a temporary injunction, which has resulted in all PS3 shipments across Europe and the UK being blocked by customs officials.
The civil court of justice in the Hague has ordered customs officials to seize all new shipments of PS3 consoles for the next ten days. The injunction is a temporary one but seeing as it has been awarded to LG, things are not looking too great for Sony. According to reports on The Guardian, if the injunction is extended it would mean PlayStation 3 consoles being removed from shops as well.
Sony imports 100 000 PS3s a week into Europe, and on average a retail store has enough stock for about two to three weeks. Those are now being seized and stored in Rotterdam and Schipol, the two main import points for Sony in Europe. If LG wins this legal dispute, Sony will be forced to pay them compensation for every single PS3 unit sold across the globe. According to The Guardian, that figure would be in the “hundreds of millions of poundsâ€.
Naturally, Sony is trying to get this injunction lifted as soon as possible.
Source: The Guardian [via CVG]
Last Updated: March 1, 2011
