Sony's legal mobile phone feud with LG, Inc. may be too costly for the hardware giant, as European customs officers have been ordered to seize shipments of Playstation 3s and all other Blu-Ray devices after LG won a preliminary injunction in a countersuit claiming the Blu-Ray tech infringes on several LG patents.
All new PS3s have to be confiscated as they are imported into the UK and the rest of Europe for at least 10 days. If the injunction is extended, it could mean a PS3 shortage, as retailers state they have roughly two to three weeks worth of stock. Tens of thousands of PS3s have already been seized by customs officers last week in the Netherlands.
Sony is understandly desperate, trying to get the ban lifted, while LG could apply for a court order to get the consoles destroyed - this is a highly unlikely circumstance however.
The entire mess has arisen from a legal battle between the two Asian companies. Sony initated it when the company had brought lawsuits on the South Korean company LG, claiming their mobile phones, notably the Lotus Elite, Neon, Remarq, Rumor 2 and Xenon models, were infringing on seven Sony patents. LG is the third largest producer of mobiles.
LG’s counter-suit against Blu-Ray devices is based on the fact that the Blu-Ray’s patents, which deal with high-definition receivers, and receiving and processing signals that are a way of dealing with multiple data streams (such as different camera angles, as well as a system to reproduce data that’s stored on a read-only device) infringe on four of their patents.
LG, Inc. is also setting their sights on having the PS3 embargoed in the US as well.
Mar 1 2011, 10:05 am
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Popisfizzy
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Umm, there's a ban on importation. This is not a ban on ownership. The two are vastly-different things.
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Copyright isn't what it use to be.
Then again Neblim, for all purposes, isn't that the same argument for rips? Let me rephrase your statement. "I like how Game rights like these "infringe" upon themselves, preventing these games from being expanded upon by rips or whoever may feel [free] to improve upon it." Not defending rips, just making a point... | |
A post about the playstation 3 being banned and we already get to the rips subject. What a lovely community.
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Well, this has been known for awhile now.. Way to be late.
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actually latoma's analogy made sense
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i thought zaole was going to iraq to get shot or something
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This is moronic. Shouldn't Sony just have to pay damages instead of embargoing the consoles?
I hope in the US things don't end up reaching this level of farce. | |
Lummox JR wrote:
This is moronic. Shouldn't Sony just have to pay damages instead of embargoing the consoles? Apparently this is one of seven disputes between LG and Sony over patent issues, and some of the other ones were begun by Sony, and doing the same thing towards LG products. Also, it seems that the block on importation is a temporary thing until the courts can decide whether there is infringement on patents. | |
So if they're not going to be able to sell PS3s in stores that makes a PS3 a bit more valuable, which can be sold for far more than what its actually worth. Mwuahaha
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Popisfizzy wrote:
Apparently this is one of seven disputes between LG and Sony over patent issues, and some of the other ones were begun by Sony, and doing the same thing towards LG products. Also, it seems that the block on importation is a temporary thing until the courts can decide whether there is infringement on patents. I don't mean to say companies don't have the right to duke it out over patents, although the abuse of patents by overreach has become such a travesty in its own right that such fights do little more than fob licensing fees off onto the general public. The real issue is that infringement or not, there is obviously a monetary solution and the system is so well established that taking it off the market would be a disservice to the world, so that's not even on the table. Therefore there is no need to embargo the consoles. | |
What the heck. Oh whatever, I have one already...
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This doesn't come as a surprise to me. Being if you remember way back before launch about Sony being sued by Nintendo for technology theft mattering the new Sony controller for the PS3. If I remember right, Sony lost and why the PS3 control looks like the PS2 controller now.
It really makes me wonder about there gaming divisions being there lawsuits. But then a major tactic to slowing production is to pull the competition into court. | |