We reported here a couple of days ago, that LG had managed to get a TRO(Temporary Restraining Order) against the import of the PS3 Console, many people were concerned about the ban becoming permanent and the implications of that, well it seems that the ban is nothing to worry about.
Florian Mueller a competition-focused intellectual property activist with 25 years of industry expertise and founder of the FOSS Patents blog, has stated that the ban is only limited to Netherlands and that for a complete European ban, more countries in the EU, would also have to ban the import of the console, here is a quote and a brilliant read from the blog:
The Guardian reported on LG’s latest patent strike against Sony in a wider patent battle over Blu-ray Discs, smartphones and video game consoles:
“European customs officers have been ordered to seize shipments of Playstation 3s after LG won a preliminary injunction against Sony [...] The ruling by the civil court of justice in the Hague means that all new PS3s have to be confiscated as they are imported into the UK and the rest of Europe for at least 10 days.”
In how much trouble is Sony now? Is Europe about to run out of PS3s?
LG made a bold move that definitely ups the pressure on Sony. But it’s important to understand that patent enforcement in Europe is still a country-by-country affair — even though there is a European Patent Office — and Sony can work around the Dutch decision by going through entry points outside of the Netherlands. That’s a logistical nightmare, but it is a possibility. Sony is most likely already exploring such alternative routes.
In order to cause greater disruption to European PlayStation sales, LG would have to obtain injunctions in more EU member states than just the Netherlands, a country that accounts for only three percent of Europe’s total population size.
While LG hasn’t confirmed anything and Sony’s official statement doesn’t say much, there’s every indication that LG requested customs action against goods suspected of patent infringement in accordance with EU Council Regulation No 1383/2003 and additionally obtained a prejudgment seizure decision from a court in The Hague, Netherlands. The combination of those two measures means Sony has a serious problem in the Dutch market, but it’s not the end of the world for the PlayStation in the whole of Europe.
As The Guardian reports, “Rotterdam [a Dutch seaport] and Schiphol [Amsterdam airport] are the main import points for PS3s for both the UK and continental Europe”. But Sony could change that.
Other high-tech companies will be watching this with interest, and with concern. For example, Apple and Nokia are also battling each other in Europe, and other litigants can never know when their adversaries are going to seek European customs action as a way to increase the pressure on them.
In 1994 the European Community (nowadays known as the European Union, or “EU”) passed a law for the seizure of counterfeit and pirated goods, amended it in 1999, and replaced it in 2003 with Council Regulation (EC) No. 1383/2003 concerning customs action against goods suspected of infringing certain intellectual property rights and the measures to be taken against goods found to have infringed such rights.
Over time, the regulation had evolved from an anti-counterfeiting measure into a broader protection of right holders. In particular, patents were not within the scope of the regulation at the outset: while many counterfeit goods infringe patents, most patent infringers aren’t pirates.
Customs authorities are usually not equipped to make the technically and legally complicated determination of infringement that usually requires multi-year lawsuits. The regulation provides the possibility that customs offices may act at their own initiative (ex officio) if they suspect infringement, but its Section 2 sets out the practically more relevant scenario of a right holder applying for customs action in writing. In that case, a right holder doesn’t bear the burden of proof that there is an actual infringement. It is merely sufficient that “goods are suspected of infringing an intellectual property right”, such as a patent under the law of the EU member state in which the application is filed.
Yes, being “suspected” of infringement is all it takes. Looks lopsided, doesn’t it?
But right holders seeking to harm competitors must be careful. A right holder whose infringement allegations aren’t confirmed by a court of law may be liable for the damage inflicted under the law of the EU member state in which the application was made.
Also, seized goods will be released after 10 days if the relevant customs office hasn’t been notified of judicial proceedings under national law. Even if a lawsuit has been filed, there is still a potential way out: “the declarant, owner, importer, holder or consignee of the goods shall be able to obtain the release of the goods or an end to their detention on provision of a security” pursuant to Article 14.
“The security [...] must be sufficient to protect the interests of the right-holder”, which means that Sony would have to deposit the amount of damages LG might be awarded if it prevailed in court. But in the Netherlands this doesn’t seem to be an option for Sony because LG appears to have obtained a preliminary injunction by a court in The Hague, ordering prejudgment seizure. As a result, the PlayStations detained there won’t be released against LG’s will until the end of the lawsuit.
Courts hand down such injunctions only based on a summary judgment standard: it’s a quick procedure, but the party requesting the injunction must show that it has a reasonable chance to prevail. By contrast, the application for customs action under the said EU regulation merely has to meet formal requirements without proving the infringement allegations by any standard at all.
The fragmentation of the European patent system may come in handy for Sony
While the European Patent Office (EPO) performs the centralized examination of European patent applications, EPO patents are just bundles of national patents, each of which is assigned a national patent number and can be enforced only in the one country in which it is valid. This is going to change: the EU is in the process of creating a single EU patent and patent judiciary, but this will take years to come to fruition.
The aforementioned European regulation requires a patent holder to claim an infringement only of a national patent. LG holds some Dutch patents that it apparently claims are infringed by the PS3, and didn’t have to allege the infringement of patents in any other EU member state.
But the prejudgment seizure order issued by the court in The Hague is valid only in the Netherlands. Therefore, if Sony ships PlayStations directly into other EU member states, the local customs authorities there will not take that seizure order into account. They may pay attention to LG’s application for customs action, but in that case Sony could bail out the detained goods on security after a maximum of ten days. Any further detention would require an injunction in the relevant country.
Prejudgment seizure appears to be a particularly Dutch phenomenon. It is also mentioned in a very interesting Managing Intellectual Property article on how customs can help patent owners.
While other European countries may not provide prejudgment seizure, it would be possible to seek preliminary injunctions against the sale of allegedly infringing goods. This is an option in many European countries. In Germany, the largest EU member state (and home to the major seaports of Hamburg and Bremen as well as Frankfurt Airport, one of the world’s 10 largest cargo hubs), it is possible to obtain preliminary injunctions in a relatively rapid procedure, but alleged infringers are usually given an opportunity to defend themselves prior to a preliminary injunction. Also, if a preliminary injunction is granted but fails to be upheld in a subsequent main proceeding, there is a considerable liability risk involved.
In order not to give LG any clues, Sony will likely not announce which alternative routes into Europe it is exploring for the PS3. This is a major logistical challenge, but Sony will probably go to extreme lengths to avoid the loss of market share in Europe. In that case, LG will have to chase the PS3 down across the EU, or at least in the largest markets. It will take much more than the surprise effect of the Dutch decision — however impressive it may be per se — to bring Sony to its knees.
That said, it seems that the patent wars between major industry players are ever more bitterly contested, and Europe increasingly becomes a battlefield.
If you’d like to be updated on the smartphone patent disputes and other intellectual property matters I cover, please subscribe to my RSS feed (in the right-hand column) and/or follow me on Twitter @FOSSpatents.
Source FOSS Patents blog
Via Guardian.co.uk
Via thesixthaxis
03-02-2011
02:37 PM
Define irony: Suing people for hacking into a already pirated "computer" system. WOW. ROTFLMAO
03-02-2011
02:42 PM
in italy we call this "divine justice"... and when geohot and all other devs will win against Sony we could all say "...And justice for all!"
03-02-2011
02:43 PM
Reverse rape much?
03-02-2011
02:56 PM
that was a long read ......
03-02-2011
03:12 PM
03-02-2011
03:56 PM
well im sure that the day will come for my ass to be sued/imprisoned, due to the fact i have 1 console & 1 control & my humble £200 ****ty pc all included,,,,,,,,, hmmmmmm hard choice... take it sony please... send me to jail.... i have no money..... but i shall get another ps3 & internet again as jails supply that,, if ya a good boy,,,,, lmfao... LG well done... sony are getting new smallprint out .. thank fluck i only play games..... holla to my 1 original disk... great read btw now off to ebay yo buy another console or 2 just incase..... fi real...
03-02-2011
04:09 PM
why has this site the sudden interest in infringement. Hackers have infringed on countless copy righted properties, yet this site sides with them.
03-02-2011
05:23 PM
And this site also reports hackers getting sued, and if this website just gave official news, you might aswell go to the playstation blog lol.
03-02-2011
05:26 PM
To see Sony sue people and then, Ironically, turn around and get sued for just about the same thing... priceless
03-02-2011
05:33 PM
whatever, I already own a ps3.
03-02-2011
05:52 PM
when you have a closed and secure system like the PS3 was,makes it real easy for them to steal someone else's code or technology, i wonder if the hackers found out about this a reported it to LG lol
03-02-2011
06:16 PM
@Marty370, as I have said before, the whole point of this topic and similar ones is that Sony have done what they accuse us of doing and also have made a Large amount of money from it. Even the ones who are using the current PS3 hacks to copy unowned games etc are not making any money from it (in the whole), so tell me just who is the bigger crook here?
03-02-2011
06:27 PM
i happen to know that LG helped to the orignal psjailbreak service jig clone.
If sony gos down LG rise
you see even some one as big as sony, the new guy can nock you out and be lot bigger than you.
look at whats happening sony is falling
who was first to hack to ps3 ha ha
sure not any one famous in the ps hack scene
did Geohot bring us service clone jig hack ??? NOOOO
f_chokolo get us in the door ??? NOOOO
Did LG ????
03-02-2011
06:56 PM
if sony loses, the price of the p3 may raise and online won be free anymore
03-02-2011
07:02 PM
03-02-2011
08:05 PM
so are people in the US still getting banned
03-02-2011
11:30 PM
Sony does not care about a single country ban; they lost more users to OtherOS removal than they would loose to a permanent ban on all PS3 sales in the Netherlands.
03-03-2011
12:55 AM
03-03-2011
02:40 AM
Cant believe you would side with LG, when they had no input in the design of the PS3, also cant believe the hate you and others have for Sony.
BTW Don't all the Blu-ray Group share patents for Blu-ray use in the first place, how can Blu-ray have become an agreed standard if not.
Without Sony there would be no PS3 in the first place.
Also cant believe you and and {Hax} members are blind to the fact that the hackers have broken several laws/IP's, when reverse engineering firmware code, recompiling and reusing. All illegal.
All Sony is doin is protecting it's customers, shareholders, Devs/publishers and it's own Ip interests.
The guilty parties in this are Geohot and the other hackers that actually got hold of the leaked Sony service dongle(thats IP theft), that started it all. Without the leak, hackers were struggling to break the PS3(took 4 years before they got the leaked dongle)
And as much as I like to Mod consoles like everyone else, I realize that only the hardware is owned by the end user, software/services are the owned by the IP holder(and rightly so), software is only leased to the end user.
03-03-2011
03:35 AM
this is the time when the mega corperations crumble's. A new Dawn a new Century, you'rrrrrrrrrrrr outta here!!!!!!!!!!
03-03-2011
03:37 AM
Interesting yet old story, did this happen, if so LG wouldn't have a case as they are part of the 'Blu-ray Group' along with another 30+ electronic makers which includes Sony.
Blu-Ray Patent Holders Try to Make Licensing Less Complex and Expensive.
Blu-Ray Founding Companies to Lower Blu-Ray Drives Licensing Fees by 40%
[02/25/2009 10:54 PM]
by Anton Shilov
Panasonic, Philips and Sony, who own the majority patents for Blu-ray disc (BD) technology, are currently working with other Blu-ray patent holders to establish a one-stop-shop license for BD products. This license, which covers essential patents for Blu-ray Disc, DVD and CD, will be introduced in the middle of this year. The move may allow third parties to engage into Blu-ray business at lower price and with fewer complexities.
http://http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/...Expensive.html
03-03-2011
03:43 AM
But you have a point here. Thinking about it, every piece of electronics contains some kind of software to control it. So you and I actually own nothing according to your writing. My car, my TV, my sat receiver, my stereo, my watch, my phone etc. etc. all contain software and I am not allowed to modify it in any way. All my equipment can be taken away by the manufacturer as of this so I think I will never buy any piece of electronic hardware again if the world thinks in this way.
Best thing is to change the world so electronics with software can only be leased and never be bought because you will never own it.
03-03-2011
03:56 AM
OoZic - Sony never forced you to update your firmware and lose other OS, I for one did by choice I read TOS and agreed. Therefore foregoing any rights to other OS I had.
Anyone who actually used Other OS had a choice?
If you have agreed with TOS then you have done the same as me.
Also have you ever read what it says on the PS3's box.
It says 'hardware/software can change without pior notice'
BTW if you modded your car, like add large wheels etc you would invalidate any manufacturer warranty. Manufacturer don't like anything changed, which is no different to how Sony has reacted.
03-03-2011
04:13 AM
And "hardware/software can be changed without prior notice" is something else as "hardware/software can be removed/disabled if you have this device in use at home without prior notice". Also "on the box" is for people who buy a new PS3. It says "this new PS3 can have other software and hardware specs as the ones that are sold before". This is not for existing users.
03-03-2011
04:25 AM
By stating that you couldn't use PSN if you didn't update, was a way of forcing PS3 owners to update, so yes Sony did force users to update.
03-03-2011
04:25 AM
Another interesting, yet old story. Funny how both Sony & LG were in attendence trying to agree on a cross licensing agreement of any required Blu-ray patents.
If this was agreed in 2006 then how can LG say Sony infringes patents.
First Meeting of Blu-ray Disc Patent Holders Held
Posted Jul 20, 2006
MPEG LA announced today that the first meeting of essential Blu-ray Disc patent owners, consisting of 17 companies, was held in Los Angeles on July 6-7 for the purpose of creating a joint license providing fair, reasonable, non-discriminatory access to essential patents, as an alternative to negotiating separate licenses. Participating companies included CyberLink Corporation; Dell Inc.; Hewlett-Packard Company; Hitachi Ltd.; Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V.; LG Electronics Inc.; Matsu****a Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (Panasonic); Mitsubishi Electric Corporation; Pioneer Corporation; Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.; Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd.; Sharp Corporation; Sony Corporation; TDK Corporation; Victor Company of Japan, Ltd.; and Warner Home Video Inc.
http://http://www.emedialive.com/Art...rticleID=11643
03-03-2011
04:34 AM
From all your post's, it seems you are against hacking and modding of all types, which makes me wonder why one would join a site, if they are against anything it stands for >.<
03-03-2011
04:44 AM
I'm against some of what the hackers did, like using others IP code for the use of breaking the PS3. It's the way tthe hackers went about breaking the PS3 is wrong.
If they had used there on tools they I have no problem with it(which they clearly didn't), all started with the leaked theft of the Sony Service Dongle.
03-03-2011
04:52 AM
the devs wouldn't have bothered if it were not for Sony doing that.
that was the point when the likes of geohot started work and made progress which played a part in the jailbreak.
don't be naive Sony started this battle, not the hackers. and it was Sony employees that leaked the jig docs etc so you can't blame the hackers for sonys actions.
Sent from my iPod touch using Tapatalk
03-03-2011
05:17 AM
Edit: you can do the same thing Geohot did with a Teensy board:
http://psx-scene.com/forums/f149/geo...-teensy-82203/
Sorry Greg for the link to PSXscene. Couldn't find this hack on PS3Hax and have no time to start a new thread for this news that is already a few days old.
03-03-2011
05:46 AM
This is all b*****ap! Sony wont feel a thing from this, if they cant sell and import to the Netherlands they will just go thru the 2nd biggest harbour of europe in Belgium and go to the netherlands from there. So no problem sony wont go broke on this.
And sony is just defending itself, what would you do if you are selling a grait piece of hardware without profits for years, then you finally start making profits and then it gets hacked, would you say oh hack away mates? I dont think so...
Try thinking about it instead of only seeing "how bad" sony is.
And they actually did never force you to update and loose otherOs, its your fault for updating and not reading the TOS. And nothing in any law sais they are not allowed to remove it. And cmon be honest, otheros wasnt even good, it took ages to open something.
03-03-2011
06:12 AM
Don't be sorry, its a good site
Don't be silly, as i said earlier, update or no PSN, that is a forceful update, to think otherwise is just naive.
03-03-2011
07:19 AM
I bought it with "the best of both worlds option" and afterwards i have to make a choice to stay at one world. And losing the ability to play the latest games is one, but like Greg also said, losing PSN is another if you don't update.
So I want to keep OtherOS and FW 3.15 and because of that I am not allowed in their digital store anymore. It is like being kicked out of the McDonalds because I wear a Nike T-shirt they don't like. Reason: some criminals wear Nike T-shirts so everybody with a nike T-shirt is a criminal.
OtherOS was crippled by Sony. No one told me that before I bought my Fat PS3. Nowhere on the box something like "Warning, OtherOS has only access to one core and no GPU acceleration and we have only put it on the PS3 to pay lower import taxes and we are going to remove it in the near future from your PS3 by an update.". So for that part you are right, the way Sony delivered OtherOS is pretty useless. But we have Graf_chocolo to correct this for us
And I also have a lot of stuff at my garage I almost never use. That doesn't mean everybody can take my stuff away because I don't use it that much or isn't that useful for me.
Say you buy a house with a garage and because you have no car you don't use the garage that often. You come home one day and the locks on your garage are changed and you don't get the new key because you didn't use it anyway..... and if you complain they tell you you actually didn't buy the ownership and right to use your house and garage the way you want but you did only lease it and have nothing to say about your property.
03-03-2011
07:34 AM
So on the outside of the box of every new game.
I am advertised on the games that I can play them, use them and as far as I have seen never told I will lose a feature to play them.
Does killzone 3 or any other game say they require a certain version of firmware before I buy it?
So on the game, it clearly says play on my PS3. But I can't because I am FORCED to choose between features that WERE offered to me at the time I purchased?!
How is that good for me a consumer?
03-03-2011
07:47 AM
Sony did not force anyone, they just gave you the choise to loose compatibility and keep a crappy OS, or keep compatability and loose the crappy OS. That's named giving a choise, not forcing.
Besides if you want to use linux that badly, install it on ur laptop/desktop, it would give better performance anyways.
03-03-2011
08:07 AM
Are you so blinded by the facts that you refuse to see that it was a forced update.
Its simple, some people cant afford a computer and a games console, so they opted for the PS3, it being a super computer, were promised Linux which would let them do many things that the gameOS couldn't do, they did their school work, uni work etc and in that time, they gathered a few hundred pounds/dollars/euros worth of PSN games.
Sony release 3.21 and say, you can keep OtherOS, but wont be able to use PSN and play those games online that you spent all your money on, you want to keep otherOS, but you also want to get use out of the games that you spent money on, so you are forced to update.
If this wasn't a forced update, Sony would have allowed OtherOS users to keep PSN and use OtherOS, its that simple, no matter what way your try and butter it, it was a forced and mandatory update.
03-03-2011
09:02 AM
Call me naive, blind and whatever u want, but I am the one that sees the difference between forced update/a choise. If it was a FORCED update you wouldnt have anything to say and just get the update pushed thru network. Really if you cant see that... And besides, otheros for collage work? Ps3 was 600€/$ xD a decent laptop running linux is 300€/$ and it runs linux alot faster... For god sake, those 20ppl in the world that were seriously using otheros...
I'm not defending sony in any way, but the things most of u ppl are saying is just out of pure hatred, it was lame of sony to take psn and compatability away, but they never forced you to do a thing, they gave you the choise.
For the rest i'm not gonna waste any more of my time, but just think about it, sony is just trying to save its ass just like you or anyone else would do, and if u have to play dirty games for that, then so be it, just be glad that you have a cfw right now, it could have been worse.
03-03-2011
11:36 AM
- update PS3 and lose otherOS (a paid for feature), but the have ability to play PSN
or
- keep otherOS and lose any future compatibily with new games and lose PSN (an advertised feature, despite it being free) (and also paid for store games, as greg mentioned)
yeah that seems fair
so yeah you do get a choice,
Either you lose paid-for features or you lose advertised features.
03-03-2011
11:38 AM
Well said and very good first post
03-03-2011
01:22 PM
or a 3rd option: stay on the 3.55 cfw and use the new tools to get online
03-03-2011
02:04 PM
The hardware of the PS3 isn't changed and there are no new drivers so every update is only for removing good futures and to add bad futures. But nothing that will affect the game itself. The PS3 with 3.56 has the same hardware as a PS3 with FW 1.0 so games can run on all FW's.