14 DAY TRIAL // Video game manufacturer and publisher Sony has apparently convinced the courts in the Netherlands to allow it to take possession of an estimated 300,000 PlayStation 3 home consoles that have been previously confiscated after the electronics company LG won a temporary import ban.
Reports from Dutch press are saying that a judge with the Hague District Court has heard an emergency appeal coming from Sony and has allowed the company to take its consoles and then distribute them as they see fit across the European market.
The court order also says that Dutch-based custom officials should no longer seize any more shipments of the PlayStation 3 that are coming into Europe through Amsterdam.
LG has the option to appeal the current decision.
Reports are saying that more than 180,000 PlayStation 3 home consoles are expected to arrive in the coming days.
Florian Mueller, who is a patent lawyer, commented that, “The key reason for the court to lift the seizure order was that this kind of measure didn't seem fair given the history of negotiations between the parties.”
At the beginning of March, LG convinced a judge with the Breda District Court to issue a temporary injunction on the import of the PlayStation 3 in Europe as part of ongoing legal action taken against Sony.
LG has sued Sony over patent issues linked to the Blu-ray technology both in Europe and in North America, claiming that Sony should pay damages for all the drives using the tech it has sold so far and should also pay in order to keep selling them, both standalone and included in the PS3.
In Europe LG is aiming to get 250 dollars for every Blu-ray device ever sold by Sony, which is kind of ridiculous considering the price of the PlayStation 3, which integrates one, and LG also wants 350 million as a guarantee that would cover future sales.