Europe seizes PS3 shipments as LG fights Sony in court

[Emil]

European customs officers are seizing shipments of Sony's PlayStation 3 after LG won a preliminary injunction against Sony, which imports around 100,000 of the consoles a week into the continent.

The ruling by the civil court of justice in the Hague means that all new PS3s have to be confiscated for at least 10 days as they are imported into Europe. If the injunction ends up being extended, the consoles could disappear from shelves; retailers typically have about two to three weeks' worth of PS3s in stock, according to The Guardian.

The same could happen in the US; last month, LG filed a complaint against Sony across the pond, claiming the PlayStation 3 and Bravia line of television models infringe as many as four Blu-ray Disc patents. The two Asian electronics giant are fighting viciously in court.

Sony is unsurprisingly hoping to get the ban lifted; the Japanese company has the right to appeal to the European patents office. LG wants to have it extended by applying to the same patents office, or the South Korean company could apply for an order to get the consoles destroyed, but it is highly unlikely the court would grant such a request.

There are two much more likely outcomes: the duo will settle in court or it will settle in private. Either way, Sony may end up paying LG hundreds of millions of dollars to compensate for every PS3 sold around the world, assuming of course, that it is found to be infringing the patents in question.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/42610-europe-seizes-ps3-shipments-as-lg-fights-sony-in-court.html

 

[mosu]

On the other hand, Sony is suing GeoHot! What a crappy behavior from Sony.

 

[1amguy]

Police now needs to raid Sony's house and take all their hardware that may have infringing evidence.

 

[Jesse]

1amguy said:
Police now needs to raid Sony's house and take all their hardware that may have infringing evidence.

=] Right on!

 

[Leeky]

I hope LG rip into them like wild dogs.

What goes around comes around - it's just deserves for ripping GeoHot to pieces and being unnecessarily harsh towards him.

 

[Lurker101]

It's not going well for Sony these days is it? I've said it before and I'll say it again, Sony are out of the console arms race.

 

[gwailo247]

lurker101 said:
It's not going well for Sony these days is it? I've said it before and I'll say it again, Sony are out of the console arms race.

Was there a memo?

 

[Trillionsin]

gwailo247 said:

lurker101 said:
It's not going well for Sony these days is it? I've said it before and I'll say it again, Sony are out of the console arms race.

Was there a memo?

Yea, you must of just missed it.

 

[Johny47]

LG are STILL going on about that flippin Blu Ray thing? if they were so serious about it why wait until the PS3 is doing very well and is about to take over Microsoft's 360? 'I smell a rat' I think Microsoft are being dirty and paying LG to do this rubbish, shame on them both. I hope LG seriously loses, if they win I'll brake my LG monitor and put it on YouTube hahaha =P

 

[Lurker101]

It's "break", johny.

 

[Leeky]

LG are STILL going on about that flippin Blu Ray thing? if they were so serious about it why wait until the PS3 is doing very well and is about to take over Microsoft's 360? 'I smell a rat' I think Microsoft are being dirty and paying LG to do this rubbish, shame on them both. I hope LG seriously loses, if they win I'll brake my LG monitor and put it on YouTube hahaha =P

Yeah, I thought the same in another thread recently.

However, from my brief recollection, LG will have been required to "wait out" the problem before being able to "cost" damages.

If I'm remembering it correctly, its not uncommon for this to happen, otherwise you wouldn't know how much to sue your opponent, before than handing it back the following year because they're suing you for something else. :haha:

 

[KG363]

"The two Asian electronics giant are fighting viciously in court." Please proofread.

The last sentence is also questionable and should've been rephrased.

 

[OUTLAWXXX]

kg363 said:
"The two Asian electronics giant are fighting viciously in court." Please proofread.

The last sentence is also questionable and should've been rephrased.

I think most people got the point, if the language needs to evolve to be better just let it.

 

[AmanEatingChair]

I highly doubt they will be removing any ps3s from the shelves anytime soon.

 

[gobbybobby]

amaneatingchair said:
I highly doubt they will be removing any ps3s from the shelves anytime soon.

They already stopped Sony moving new stock into Europe. If the ban gets extended then its estimated (in the UK) supply's will run dry in just a few weeks. Also big releases like Kill zone 3 will mean more consoles are being sold.

Im neither for nor against what Sony are doing. They are getting negative publicity at the moment can't be good for business, if Sony lose this case its gonna cost em dearly.

 

[Leeky]

If what LG are proclaiming is true; you wouldn't take such legal action nor get stock seized if it wasn't in fairness, then Sony are going to be losing considerable money either way.

There will be no win or lose, the only reduction in damage will come from the size of the money paid out - Expect millions either way. Having all the new stock held in Europe is a multi-million dollar "problem" already.