A US-based video software company on Tuesday filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Acer Inc, but the local computer manufacturer said yesterday that impact from the lawsuit on its sales would be limited.
Acer said the question of the patent coverage is in doubt, a company official told the Taipei Times in a phone interview.
"Our supplier [Compal Electronics Inc (仁寶)], which manufactures the alleged patent-infringing computer products, has assured us that the technology is theirs, and we trust their statement," said Doris Feng (馮婷怡), Acer's public relations officer.
"We will spare no effort to defend our brand image and interests," Feng said.
InterVideo Digital Technology Inc, a Fremont, California-headquartered DVD and multimedia software company, filed patent infringement lawsuits in Taipei District Court and in US Western District Court in Austin, Texas against Acer and Acer America Corp.
InterVideo argues that Acer's Aspire 2000 notebook PC series infringes on several patents, including hotkey functions that allow users to activate multimedia applications without needing to start up Microsoft's Windows operating system in advance.
InterVideo asked the "United States Western District Court in Austin to enjoin Acer and Acer America Corp from the manufacture, sales, offer to sell, use and importation of products which infringe on the patents," the company said in the statement.
InterVideo also wants Acer to pay for all damages, including royalties and attorney fees and costs.
Feng said that Acer consulted with InterVideo before the lawsuit was filed and that the company regretted InterVideo's insistence on following through with the lawsuits.
"The incident will not impact our sales since the high-end notebook computer series accounts for only a small portion of our shipments," Feng said.
The written agreements with the suppliers that all the technology and services should be free from patent infringement is also likely to secure Acer's rights, Feng said.
"It's too early to say whether we will approach our supplier for compensation," she said.
Gary Lu (呂清雄), a spokesman for Compal, which is also client of InterVideo, said that the manufacturer did not encroach on any patents.
Lu said Compal will seek further clarification on the issue with InterVideo.
Compal may eventually need to bear the responsibility once the patent infringement case is brought to court, according to an official at the Business Software Alliance (BSA).
In light of legal precedents, contract manufactures or outsourced companies need to shoulder the blame if they are the actual ones who committed the violation, BSA Taiwan Committee's co-chair Sung Hong-ti (
Taichung reported the steepest fall in completed home prices among the six special municipalities in the first quarter of this year, data compiled by Taiwan Realty Co (台灣房屋) showed yesterday. From January through last month, the average transaction price for completed homes in Taichung fell 8 percent from a year earlier to NT$299,000 (US$9,483) per ping (3.3m²), said Taiwan Realty, which compiled the data based on the government’s price registration platform. The decline could be attributed to many home buyers choosing relatively affordable used homes to live in themselves, instead of newly built homes in the city’s prime property market, Taiwan Realty
The government yesterday approved applications by Alphabet Inc’s Google to invest NT$27.08 billion (US$859.98 million) in Taiwan, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a statement. The Department of Investment Review approved two investments proposed by Google, with much of the funds to be used for data processing and electronic information supply services, as well as inventory procurement businesses in the semiconductor field, the ministry said. It marks the second consecutive year that Google has applied to increase its investment in Taiwan. Google plans to infuse NT$25.34 billion into Charter Investments Ltd (特許投資顧問) through its Singapore-based subsidiary Fructan Holdings Singapore Pte Ltd, and
Micron Technology Inc is a driving force pushing the US Congress to pass legislation that would put new export restrictions on equipment its Chinese competitors use to make their chips, according to people familiar with the matter. A US House of Representatives panel yesterday was to vote on the “MATCH Act,” a bill designed to close gaps in restrictions on chipmaking equipment. It would also pressure foreign companies that sell equipment to Chinese chipmaking facilities to align with export curbs on US companies like Lam Research Corp and Applied Materials Inc. The bill targets facilities operated by China’s ChangXin Memory Technologies Inc
Japan’s reliance on the Middle East for aluminum is forcing companies to cut back on production and scramble for alternative supply sources after key shipping routes were severed due to the Iran conflict. Among the most exposed are auto and parts makers such as Toyota Motor Corp and Denso Corp. Domestic automakers get about 70 percent of their aluminum imports from the Middle East, the nation’s top auto lobby said. The price of the lightweight alloy — used in everything from engine parts to wheels — has jumped about 13 percent since hostilities started in late February. “It’s only been a month, but it’s
RSS