Acer asks suppliers to assist in lawsuit filed by HP in US

Acer Inc, the world's No. 3 personal computer maker, said yesterday it is asking its contract manufacturers to share responsibility in the lawsuit filed by larger rival Hewlett-Packard Co.

Acer has filed a claim with the US court to ask Hon Hai Precision Industry Co, Quanta Computer Inc and Wistron Corp to assist Acer in the litigation, Acer spokesman Henry Wang said yesterday by telephone.

PAY ATTENTION
"We have to ask our suppliers to pay attention to the matter," Scott Lin, president of Acer's Taiwan operations, said while attending Intel Corp's Santa Rosa launch.

HP last month filed its second lawsuit within a month against the Taiwanese maker, saying Acer computers infringed on five HP patents.

The litigation seeks to stop Acer from selling some desktop computers, notebooks, media centers and related products for home and business use in the US, plus cash compensation.

"This is another dimension of business competition, which is inevitable since we've moved up to the No. 3 position," Acer chairman Wang Jeng-tang said on April 27.

He then said that Acer would analyze HP's infringement claims and seek support from the suppliers that Acer purchases its computers from.

FEELING CONFIDENT
Acer does not seem particularly concerned about the litigation issue, as its president Gianfranco Lanci said the company would become the world's No. 2 notebook computer maker this year, overtaking Dell Inc, on new models sold in the US, its fastest-growing market.

"We are quite optimistic about the US," Lanci said in an interview from his Milan office. "We are going to replace the entire product line" within three months.

Lanci aims to repeat his success in Europe, where he steered Acer to become the No. 2 computer maker by building ties with retailers and distributors.

Acer is pinning its hopes on a new product line released last week in Taipei.

source: Taipei Times