Acer Inc. said Wednesday it is conducting a full investigation into patent infringement allegations made by Hewlett-Packard Co. Palo Alto-based HP (NYSE:HPQ) on Tuesday filed suit against Taipei-based Acer and its San Jose-based U.S. subsidiary, claiming infringement of five of HP's patents in the United States. The suit, which was filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas in Marshall, Texas, claims Acer violated patents related to optical drive editing, clock frequency switching, utilization-based power management of a clocked device, attaching devices to a digital serial bus, and multiple-chip processing. The HP patents were issued between 1997 and 2003. HP is asking for unspecified damages, an injunction, and legal costs. In response, Acer said it "respects the intellectual properties of third parties and is currently conducting a full investigation of these allegations made by Hewlett-Packard. As part of our continuing service, Acer is dedicated to supporting our customers through the lawsuit." |