PlayStation 3 Consoles Seized Amid Patent Dispute

Sony PlayStation 3 consoles are being seized across Europe as a consequence of an ongoing patent dispute between it and rival LG, the Guardian newspaper has reported.

A Dutch civil court in The Hague granted an injunction ordering the seizure of the popular gaming console for 10 days, the Guardian said. Sony can appeal to the European Patent office. Officials at the agency could not be immediately reached on Tuesday.

Neither LG nor Sony officials contacted in the U.K. would comment on Tuesday on the action.

The companies are engaged in litigation over patents for the Blu-ray optical disc technology, which is contained in the PlayStation 3, one of several ongoing patent-related lawsuits.

Officials at the U.K. Border Agency could not immediately confirm if they were seizing PlayStation 3s. The Guardian wrote that “tens of thousands” of the consoles were confiscated last week in The Netherlands.

Sony imports as many as 100,000 consoles to Europe per week, the Guardian reported. The consoles that are exported are pre-ordered and could run out in Europe within two or three weeks if the injunction is not lifted, the newspaper said.

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