14 DAY TRIAL // There are reports that police in the Netherlands have seized a number of PlayStation 3 home-gaming consoles from warehouses as part of the injunction on imports of the device that electronics company LG has won against Sony last week.
Analysts are estimating that about 100,000 PlayStation 3 home consoles are being imported into Europe each month, most of them through the port in Amsterdam, and the Dutch police seem to have picked up all the devices brought in by recent shipments during their raid.
LG has persuaded the courts in Europe that Sony has infringed on a series of patents that it holds linked to Blu-ray technology and a 10-day import injunction has been issued by the courts last week.
A spokesperson for Sony said, “However, this is only a preliminary injunction, that has resulted in shipments being temporarily withheld. It does not indicate any acceptance of LG's allegations. We consider these allegations unwarranted, and will take appropriate measures including filing a claim of opposition to courts in the Netherlands. We will not comment on any further details.”
Some sources are reporting that the Dutch police are also authorized to confiscate PlayStation 3 consoles that are found inside people's homes but that makes little sense given that the court band is linked to the importing of the device and not to owning it.
LG has also moved against Sony in the United States, also because of patent issues, and a court is expected to decide soon whether imports will also be banned in the United States for a while.
LG is seeking reparations from Sony but no sums have been mentioned yet.
It's unlikely that the import ban will last for long and it’s probable that LG and Sony will enter an agreement outside of court, as companies usually do in patent infringement cases.