Sony and LG face courtroom showdown today over seized PS3s ('several thousand' of them!) [Update: Sony wins, PS3s released]
[Update: It looks like Sony won the injunction, and once again the PS3s runneth free! FOSS Patents cites two Dutch sources, along with an independent source. "InsideGamer.nl reports that all seized PlayStations will have to be released, no more seizures will take place, and LG has to pay legal fees amounting to €130,000 (approximately US$180,000)," FOSS Patents reports. "For each day that LG fails to comply, it will be fined at a rate of €200,000 (approximately US$275,000)."]
Sony and LG's protracted patent battle drags on, with PS3s across the Netherlands paying the price. The Guardian reports, "Dutch police have seized several thousand PlayStation 3s at Sony's biggest European warehouse in the latest stage of its acrimonious patent battle with LG."
Following last week's preliminary injunction that ordered customs officers to seize thousands of PS3 consoles entering Europe, Sony will be trying to have the injunction lifted "at an emergency hearing in the Hague's civil court of justice" today. LG will likely request that the consoles be destroyed (no!) while Sony will request that the seizures stop.
"However, this is only a preliminary injunction, that has resulted in shipments being temporarily withheld," a Sony spokesperson told The Guardian. "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."
A court judgment could be returned as early as today, The Guardian posits. And while this is limited to Europe for now, we'd like to remind you that LG is trying to start trouble in the US as well. You wouldn't like us when we're angry, LG.
