Sony's court troubles currently involve more than just tracking down hackers. According to a report from the Guardian, shipments of PlayStation 3s are being confiscated by European customs officers as Sony fights a patent battle with LG over Blu-ray.
The ruling, which was handed down in the Netherlands, calls for all new PS3 shipments going into Europe to be confiscated for at least the next 10 days. A further extension could potentially mean that not only will new consoles not make it into Europe, but existing ones could be taken off of retail shelves.
The report claims that tens of thousands of consoles were seized in the Netherlands last week. The ban centers on a patent dispute between the two companies concerning the Blu-ray technology used in the PS3. If Sony is found to be violating LG's intellectual property, it could potentially be forced to pay substantial compensation, likely in the hundreds of millions of dollars range.
Neither company has publicly commented on the situation.
