LG Electronics wants the US to stop importing units of Sony’s PlayStation 3 and its line of Bravia TVs. According to two complaints filed with the US International Trade Commission (ITC), LG says that the HDTVs infringe on four LG patents while products with Blu-ray players, including the PS3, infringe on four other patents.
Sony, Sony Corporation of America, Sony Electronics, Sony Computer Entertainment, and Sony Computer Entertainment America are cited in the complaint, according to the docket page on the ITC’s Web site. The patents in the Bravia TV case are related to HD receivers and how signals are processed and received. LG and Sony are the world’s second- and third-largest TV set makers, behind only Samsung.
According to the documents, LG said it holds patents Sony violated in the PS3 related to the way a Blu-ray player reproduces data from a Blu-ray disc; the way multiple data streams are reproduced by way of multiple camera angles; and a patent on the display of text subtitles for Blu-ray.
LG’s decision to take the issue up with the ITC follows a December complaint filed by Sony in which it asked the ITC to bar LG from selling mobile phones in the US because of alleged patent violations. The LG phones named include the Lotus Elite, Neon, Remarq, Rumor 2 and Xenon. A civil lawsuit Sony brought targets LG Blu-ray disc players.
LG wants the ITC to launch an “immediate investigation” into Sony’s alleged patent violation. The company wants the ITC to bar Sony from importing the PlayStation 3 into the United States. It also wants the console banned from any marketing and a cessation of any repair efforts Sony might engage in. The two companies each get more than 20% of their revenue from North America.