TOKYO (AP) -- Customs officials in the Netherlands are holding a shipment of Sony PlayStation 3 game consoles following a claim by LG Electronics of patent infringement.
Sony Corp. says officials told the company in late February that a shipment was being held for "inspection."
Sony says it believes the measure was taken in response to LG's complaint with a Dutch court that the Blu-ray technology used in the Sony consoles infringes on LG patents.
Sony said it thought the hold would be temporary and that it refuses to accept its South Korean rival's claims.
Sony declined to say how many consoles were affected. The Netherlands is one of Sony's supply bases for the console to Europe. Media reports said the company sends 100,000 consoles a week to the continent.