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Sony PlayStation 3 Imports Temporarily Banned In Europe
tekgoblin writes "Looks like Sony is in some trouble in Europe. LG recently complained about Sony and filed a US patent dispute over their Blu-ray technology. Now they have been granted a preliminary injunction in the matter in Europe. This injunction prevents the PlayStation 3 from currently being imported to Europe. For at least the next 10 days, every PlayStation that is imported will be seized by government officials."
"Blu-ray is just a bag of hurt. It's great to watch the movies, but the licensing of the tech is so complex, we're waiting till things settle down and Blu-ray takes off in the marketplace."
-- Steve Jobs
Maybe this is what Mr. Jobs was thinking of?
Not weird really. The injunction is against Sony, not the merchant that is selling them.
There is a war going on for your mind.
Not at all. These sorts of patent disputes behind huge IP giants are just part of the game, and all the parties involved know that quite well. I'd give it 50/50 odds that the attorneys on the opposing sides had a nice dinner together after their racquetball game last week.
If you think Sony or some other company is ever going to react to an incident like this by suddenly snapping awake thinking "My God, maybe these patents aren't such a good idea after all," then you just don't know how this whole thing is intended to work. These companies all SHARE a common goal, and that's to completely exclude all new competition from the marketplace. In order to do that they need to brandish their weapons on a regular basis. They put on their costumes and get out in public and make like they're trying to kill each other (wink wink).
None of these corporations is ever going to experience any serious side effect of these patent "wars." War is such a silly name for it anyway. It's more like a nice aggressive game of shirts-vs-skins (pick sport of your choosing). You act all tough on the field, but you're all drinking beers together after the game.