In what is a bizzare case of legal wrangling resulting in corporate hangups and aborted product arrivals, Korean electronics giant LG has sought legal recourse against Sony by claiming that Sony has used its proprietary technology in Blu-ray devices embedded in the highly popular PlayStation 3 gaming console.
LG and Sony have a long history of acrimony, compounded not least by the traditional rivarly of their home countries. The battle for superiority between the two technology giants across the sea of Japan took an ominous turn with a complex legal dispute involving up to seven patents. The latest move was made by LG to countersue Sony for its particular implementation of Blu-ray technology.
Customs officials at ports across Europe have seized thousands of PlayStation 3 devices after LG won a priliminary injunction against the Japanese tech juggernaut. As a result, tens of thousands of PS3s are currently languishing in warehouses, unable to be delivered to gaming stores. LG might even seek the destruction of the devices, though this is said to be unlikely.
Over three million PlayStation 3 devices have been sold in the United Kingdom alone since 2007. Sony is believed to have a stored over six thousand PlayStation 3 units in Germany and a similar number in other European countries.
