LG Electronics landed a hard blow to Sony, its counterpart in a patent dispute. The latter’s Play Station 3 is banned from being imported to Europe as its infringement upon LG’s patent is recognized. According to the Guardian of the U.K., the Hague Civil Court recently gave a preliminary judgment that Sony violated LG’s Blue Ray patent, prohibiting the import of the game console. Since last weekend, its custom clearance has been halted in the Netherlands, holding tens of thousands of the console, and the other EU member countries have also been subject to the immediate suspension. The import ban lasts for 10 days. Exporting 100,000 units of PS3 on weekly average to Europe, Sony is seeing it inevitable to suffer some loss. Of course, the Japanese manufacturer can raise objections to the ruling. However, LG Electronics can request an extension of the period and an abandonment of the already imported products, too. If both resort to such extreme measures and the situation is exacerbated, the sales of the PS3 could take a blow globally as well as in Europe. LG Electronics made an issue of the game console after Sony had attacked it first on December 28, 2010. At that time, Sony sued LG with the ITC (International Trade Committee) for the Korean company’s mobile phones marketed then in North America infringing its patent. After the filing, LG Electronics started a lawsuit against Sony, claiming that Sony used its Blue Ray technology in PS3 and TV products.