Acer Inc (宏碁), one of the world’s leading PC vendors, has submitted evidence to French authorities that suggests it might have been defrauded, the company said on Saturday.
Acer filed two complaints with the French public prosecutor in Paris on Friday. One concerned the overcharging of expenses related to an event organized in France last year, and the other was related to advertisement activities in France and the violation of the Sapin Law.
The company believes that it “might have been deliberately overcharged for a major event that was organized by a third-party supplier in 2011,” it said in a statement.
After a regular internal audit, the company found that comparative quotes indicated significant discrepancies between the amount invoiced and the actual cost of the event, the statement said.
Although the financial amount concerned was not large and was not material to the company’s financial performance, the company said it has zero tolerance towards any activity that might have an impact on its interests.
The company declined to disclose the exact amount of money involved.
Separately, Japanese LED product supplier Toyoda Gosei Co has sued its Taiwanese counterpart Formosa Epitaxy Inc (璨圓) for patent infringement.
In a statement released on Friday, Toyoda Gosei said it had filed a lawsuit with the Taoyuan District Court, accusing Formosa Epitaxy of infringing on two patents asserted by the Japanese firm related to gallium nitride (GaN)-based LED chip production.
Hsu Hung-sheng (徐宏昇), a lawyer for the Japanese firm, said his client is seeking damages from Formosa Epitaxy and requested the court issue an injunction to bar the Taiwanese defendant from manufacturing and selling the disputed LED products.
Before the legal action was initiated in Taiwan, Toyoda Gosei filed another lawsuit with the US District Court for the Northern District of California on Tuesday, alleging that Formosa Epitaxy infringed on eight LED chip patents asserted by the Japanese firm.
Formosa Epitaxy said as it has not received notice from the courts in Taoyuan and California, it was unable to evaluate the litigation’s impact on its operations. Formosa Epitaxy said it remains confident of its technology and will use the litigation as an opportunity to make formal contact with Toyoda Gosei to safeguard its own rights.
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