TOKYO, March 28: Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE) said on Monday it has been fined 90 million dollars and ordered to halt sales of its blockbuster PlayStation consoles in the United States due to an alleged patent infringement. The company has been ordered to pay 90 million dollars in damages to a US tech company, Immersion Corp, but it will appeal the decision by a California federal court immediately, an SCE spokesman said.

Sony will continue to sell its PlayStations pending a ruling on the appeal, the spokesman added. Immersion, a California-based developer of digital touch technologies, charged that Sony infringed on its technology that makes a game controller vibrate in sync with actions in the games being played.

“The order is regrettable. We would like to start appeal procedures immediately,” the Sony spokesman said. “We will argue ... that we haven’t committed any (patent) infringement. —AFP