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LG reportedly granted preliminary injunction stopping imports of PS3 into Europe

G

gofreak

GAF's Bob Woodward
Well well well.

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/43257/Euro-customs-officials-seize-PS3s-in-Blu-ray-dispute

Shipments of PS3 consoles have been seized by European customs officers as an LG injunction against Blu-ray technology seeks to block Sony products from sale, according to a report in The Guardian this afternoon.

Earlier this month, LG had filed a claim with the International Trade Commission calling for a block on PS3 sales, saying the device infringes on its copyrights.

The technology firm claims its rival's Blu-ray disc devices use four patented technologies while, Bravia TVs infringe another four.
Click to expand...

Authorities made the first swoop last week, and claims say that there are now only two to three weeks' worth left of PS3s in the channel for Europe if the ban is not lifted.

Sony imports around 100,000 consoles a week into the continent from its manufacturing plants in the East.

The current injunction lasts for 10 days, but The Guardian speculates that LG may lobby for an extension, or a less likely call for the consoles to be destroyed.

The Guardian quotes a spokesman for Sony Playstation as saying, "We are currently looking into this matter, and cannot make any comments at this point in time."
Click to expand...
 
LabouredSubterfuge

LabouredSubterfuge

Member
Beat me to it.

Fascinating stuff. The undertakings covering potential damages LG will have had to have given must be astronomical.

Therefore I take it they're very confident about this claim.
 
C

Carl

Member
Bet Sony are pleased.

So, what, 4 years after launch, LG suddenly decided they own a copyright on it?
 
S

survivor

Banned
Does Sony have a way for fucking LG back or are they screwed? Can they sue LG back for some infringements or do they have to settle this in court?
 
E

Epigamic

Member
Further from the Guardian:
However, the majority of PS3 sales around Europe are pre-orders, meaning they are already sold before they gather dust at warehouses in the UK and elsewhere. Stockpiles could run out within two to three weeks if the ban is not lifted, the Guardian understands.
Click to expand...
 
G

ghst

thanks for the laugh
in other news: sony's official ps3 ytd jumped by 100,000 units in a matter of minutes today.
 
M

Mama Robotnik

Member
I hate patents at the moment. They just seem to be used so company A can say that company B inadvertently had the same abstract idea that company A apparently had first.

Therefore company B must give company A enough money to block out the sun.
 
G

gofreak

GAF's Bob Woodward
SayItWithMe said:
Huh?
Click to expand...

Shawn128 said:
Are you kidding me?
Click to expand...

ukresistance ;)


BobTheFork said:
Why not add the part where they explain WHY they are doing this to the OP?
Click to expand...


Well, I didn't want to quote the WHOLE article, but the OP does mention the reason why - basically: a dispute over Blu-ray patents.

Earlier this month, LG had filed a claim with the International Trade Commission calling for a block on PS3 sales, saying the device infringes on its copyrights.

The technology firm claims its rival's Blu-ray disc devices use four patented technologies while, Bravia TVs infringe another four.
Click to expand...
 
S

Stephen Colbert

Banned
Any details of the patents in question?

Are they stupidly generic patents related to Blu Ray menus and things of that nature, or are they highly technical engineering patents (in which case I would be very worried if I was Sony).
 
G

gcubed

Member
Mama Robotnik said:
I hate patents at the moment. They just seem to be used so company A can say that company B inadvertently had the same abstract idea that company A apparently had first.

Therefore company B must give company A enough money to block out the sun.
Click to expand...

a lot of software and UI patents are lame, but hardware patents usually are ok.
 
W

WretchedTruman

Member
gcubed said:
what exactly is infringing? Doesn't being part of the BDA allow you to share patents?
Click to expand...
This is what I'm curious about. Both LG and Sony (among many, many other corporations) are among the board of directors. Is there a backstory on this?

edit: *looks up*
ah, there it is...

well, I would assume a worst case scenario being settlement in LG's favor.
 
G

gcubed

Member
Stephen Colbert said:
Any details of the patents in question?

Are they stupidly generic patents related to Blu Ray menus and things of that nature, or are they highly technical engineering patents (in which case I would be very worried if I was Sony).
Click to expand...

i would imagine they are more then generic patents and blocking imports usually requires something more then that... although i'm only aware of the US, which you need some major infringing to get things blocked, especially if they are already in the marketplace.
 
T

todahawk

Member
Mama Robotnik said:
Is anyone currently suing LG? I want to get my legal nonsense foodchain right.


????? -> LG -> Sony -> George Hotz -> ??????
Click to expand...

I'm about to- god their microwaves suck. They still owe me a refund for the last one.
 
C

confused

Banned
Sony has no luck this gen with patent infringement. First they dropped the DualShock(only to reintroduce upon settling.) now this.
 
Y

ymmv

Banned
Sony Files Patent Lawsuit to Ban LG Mobile From U.S

Sony Corp., Japan’s biggest exporter of consumer electronics, filed patent-infringement claims seeking to block LG Electronics Inc. from shipping mobile phones to the U.S.

Sony filed the complaints Dec. 28 with the U.S. International Trade Commission in Washington, and in a federal court in Los Angeles. The ITC, which is considering at least a dozen cases related to the expanding market for smartphones, has the power to block imports of products found to violate U.S. patents. The federal court can impose financial penalties.

LG phones including the Lotus Elite, Neon, Remarq, Rumor 2 and Xenon are using Sony technology without permission, Tokyo- based Sony said in the civil lawsuit. LG, the world’s third- largest maker of mobile phones, is also being targeted in Sony’s patent suit for its Blu-ray disc players. A copy of the ITC complaint wasn’t immediately available.
Click to expand...

Wait... so Sony targets both LG's phone division AND Blu-Ray players for patent infringements. LG retaliates with a few Blu-Ray patents of their own and get all European PS3s locked up in a warehouse.
 
O

Omiee

Member
Not getting a lg product ever LIKE EVER, not that i ever got a product to begin with. Its not like they have good products or something what a bunch of idiots.
I hope sony wins this because its going to be ugly if they dont.
 
D

D4Danger

Unconfirmed Member
O

offshore

Member
So if PS3's are (already) being siezed but LG's phones in the US are not, does this mean LG's case is stronger than Sony's?

Because obviously if it is, this is really bad news for Sony. LG won't be interested in settling for peanuts if they have the stronger case. They know the PS3 is such an important product for Sony.
 
C

CrunchyFrog

Member
Wow @ above. Sounds like this just got personal. No way it would go this far without there being some kind of bad blood between these companies.

In any case, insert your popcorn.gif of choice.
 
E

Effect

Member
Does getting the PS3's blocked, if only for a short time, show that LG has a stronger and more valid claim then Sony? Or is that to big of a leap to make at this point in time?
 
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