LG last month claimed that Sony’s PS3 makes use of technology for which LG owns patents. LG appealed to the International Trade Commission (ITC) to have the sale of the console stopped in the USA.
No one took this very seriously, and it came off the back of numerous other legal wranglings between the two mega consumer electronics companies.
However, last night we reported on a story posted by the Guardian, confirming that PS3 shipments are being seized coming into Europe following an injunction which prohibits the PS3 from entering Europe for the next ten days. LG is ultimately seeking to have the sale of the console banned outright, and if Sony is found guilty of infringing on LG’s patent rights, the company will have to compensate LG for every PS3 sold to date.
The report claims that “tens of thousands of consoles” have already been confiscated at the Netherlands’ borders, and are now also being held up in the UK. Incidentally, South Africa’s PS3’s come from the Netherlands, and it stands to reason that if they have been confiscated on their way into that country, that they won’t be heading out to SA any time soon.
Sony has declined to comment on the story, other than saying “We are currently looking into this matter, and cannot make any comments at this point in time.”
Local PS3 console distributor SterKinekor could not give official comment at the time of publication, but did confirm that our PS3s do come from the Netherlands.
It may be the case that there is enough local stock of the PS3 to weather a delay in imports. However, if this ban continues for an extended period of time, then we may see retail stock drying up. MyGaming will continue to investigate this story and post details as it unfolds.
Local PS3 shortage imminent? << Comments and views
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