European customs officers seized tens of thousands of PlayStation 3 consoles after LG won a preliminary injunction against Sony regarding Blu-ray patents.
According to The Guardian, all new PS3 consoles must be confiscated as they are being imported into Europe for at least 10 days. The order was given by the civil court of justice in the Hague.
Sony imports around 100,000 PS3 consoles a week and if the injunction is extended, it could impact retail stock.
LG claims Sony has infringed on a number of patents in regards to its Blu-ray technology. LG won the preliminary injunction, though Sony can appeal this.
Sony could have to compensate LG for each PS3 sold if found guilty of infringing the patents, which could amount to hundreds of millions of euro.
Consoles are being stockpiled in Dutch warehouses until the case develops further.
LG and Sony are also involved in other separate patent disputes, with Sony looking to block shipments of LG smartphones to the US.
