PS3 Informer

Sony blocks sale of imports in Europe

A recent ruling by a British judge stated that Taiwanese import/export firm Lik-Sang was not allowed sell the Japanese version of the PSP in Europe. While the ruling pertained to the PSP, it also sets a precedent for the upcoming PlayStation 3. A Sony spokesman said "The law is clear, and grey importing PS2, PSP or PS3 into the EU, without the express permission of SCEE is illegal. Therefore, we will utilise the full scope of the law to put a stop to any retailers who chose to do this."

The spokesman continued, "Ultimately, we're trying to protect consumers from being sold hardware that does not conform to strict EU or UK consumer safety standards."

Lik-Sang has provided PS3 Informer with a press release that tells its side of the story, and it appears below in its entirety.

From the release:

Lik-Sang.com, leading online retailer for videogame systems, games and cutting-edge gaming gear, was today informed that Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Limited and Sony Computer Entertainment Inc have obtained a judgment in the High Court of London ruling PSP sales of the popular web store to the UK and the European Economic Area (EEA) unlawful.

The court hearing took place on October 9 at the High Court of London, without Lik-Sang's legal representatives attending or arguing at the hearing. It is unclear at this point if this ruling will also affect exports of PlayStation 3 and other PlayStation-branded items. Furthermore, Sony intends to obtain an UK injunction against Lik-Sang's sales to the EEA.

The legal battle with Sony over Lik-Sang's legitimate exporting activities started during August 2005. Sony complained about the sales of PSP (PlayStation Portable) systems to Europe and launched a lawsuit in the High Court of Hong Kong, arguing that Lik-Sang advertises the Sony products "in a
dishonest manner" and "unlawfully interferes with Sony's economical interests". They further launched a completely separate lawsuit against the Hong Kong based company in the courts of England for selling PSP consoles to customers in Europe and the UK, and also for mirroring the freely available PSP user guides on their servers alleging copyright infringement.

Hong Kong's laws are clear when it comes to parallel trade, and the company has no ties whatsoever with the UK. While Lik-Sang vigorously contested the UK's jurisdiction over the allegations, the judge apparently found that UK law should also apply to Hong Kong exporters. Sony has also threatened Lik-Sang recently to initiate yet another lawsuit to prevent the sales of PlayStation 3 consoles to Europe.

How this decision will affect Lik-Sang's business is not entirely known at this time. The retailer is currently exploring its legal options and analyzing the consequences of this ruling.

"Fighting multiple lawsuits in different countries at the same time and paying high premiums to expensive lawyers is an overwhelming situation for a small company like Lik Sang. Launching separate court actions with separate claims and different judges is completely unnecessary, except for the fact that it helps reaching one single target: outspend Lik-Sang to death. Pay beyond", said Pascal Clarysse, Marketing Manager of Lik-Sang.com, clearly annoyed by the unfair situation. "And contrary to their claim, I don't believe they are suffering 'losses and damages' through Lik-Sang's activity".