British news outlet The Guardian is reporting that European customs officers have been instructed to seize PlayStation 3 shipments after LG came out on the better end of a preliminary injunction against Sony.
The ruling by the civil court of justice in the Hague means all new PS3s entering the UK and Europe must be confiscated. The injunction can be appealed, an action Sony is taking, considering an extension of the injunction could see the consoles pulled from shelves entirely. LG, on the other hand, can either get the ban extended or apply for the consoles to be destroyed.
This crazy situation came about when LG realized that PS3s infringe patents relating to the playback of Blu-ray discs and acted upon it by filing an investigation into the systems. The two companies are involved in seven patent disputes according to The Guardian, with Sony attempting to block shipments of LG phones to the US.
Retailers have about two to three weeks’ worth of PS3s in stock across Europe, according to the report.
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