Sony’s Big Win: LG Must Return Seized PS3 Units, Pay Fine

In February LG seized 300,000 PS3s as they entered the Netherlands, claiming that the company had infringed upon LG patent holdings. Earlier today reports began circulating that LG would soon be able to seize already purchased units as well, however an emergency court hearing has found in favor of Sony, at least in initial proceedings.

While LG had the right to have customs seize any materials they believed to be infringing upon their patents for a period of 10 days, they also assumed responsibility for any costs incurred if they could not prove that such infringement occurred within that time period. In this case the court fined LG at a cost of 130,000 euros, while demanding that all 300,000 units be handed back over to Sony.

If all seized units are not returned within a 24 hour period LG will also be forced to pay 200,000 euros per day until they arrive back in the hands of Sony officials.

The initial proceeding is not a final judgment and it’s likely that LG will continue to fight the infringement in a court of law. In the meantime all PS3 shipments into Europe will be allowed. [via PlayStationLifestyle]