IBM files patent complaint vs. Taiwan's Asustek
Big Blue says licensing agreement expired at end of 2004. Alleged infringing products include laptops, servers, routers, components.
IBM said on Thursday that it filed a complaint against Asustek and its North American subsidiary, Asus Computer International, with the U.S. International Trade Commission.
It said the patent infringement occurs in Asustek's own-brand computers as well as in products the Taiwan contract manufacturer makes for other brands. IBM did not name the other brands.
Asustek's customers include large computer companies such as Apple and Dell.
"They use the patented technology for computers they make for others as well as their own-brand computers," IBM spokesman Ari Fishkind said. He would not say if companies other than Asustek could be affected by the complaint.
"It's in the commission's hands. It's not for us to determine," he said. Asustek continued to sell computers using IBM technology after a licensing agreement between the companies expired on December 31, 2004, he said.
Asustek denied the allegations.
"We have consulted our lawyers in the U.S., and they have concluded that the complaint has no merit," said Beck Lee, a spokesman for Asustek in Taipei.
IBM said the infringing products include notebook computers, servers, routers, and some components. It said the patents cover important aspects of computer systems, including power supplies, computer-cooling and computer-clustering capabilities.
Asustek has been trying to establish its own brand, following in the footsteps of Taiwanese rival Acer. It has set a goal of becoming the world's fifth-largest notebook computer vendor by 2010.
It launched a
IBM shares were up 84 cents, or 0.8 percent, to $109.00 in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Asustek shares closed down 2.37 percent in Taiwan on Friday.