It's a... SONY. It's a legal dispute. Sony are in deep water now as shipments of PlayStation 3's have been seized as LG won a preliminary injunction against Sony in a patent battle between the two companies. The ruling by the civil court of justice in the Hague means that all new PlayStation 3's have to be confiscated as they are imported into the UK and the rest of Europe for at least 10 days.

Tens of thousands of PS3's were seized by customs last week in the Netherlands, with more damage to Sony to come. If the injunction is extended it could mean PS3's vanishing off store shelves. Sony, which reportedly imports around 100, 000 consoles per week is frantically trying to get the ban lifted.

The legal battle between Sony and LG centres around a Blu-ray patent, LG claim that the PS3's infringe in a number of their patents relating to the playback of Blu-ray discs. If Sony is found to have infringed LG patents, Sony could be forced to compensate LG for every single PS3 it has sold around the world. Life would be very, very good for LG if this were to happen.