IBM Wants The US To Nuke Asustek From Orbit
Well, not exactly. But IBM is claiming that Taiwan-based Asus is infringing on several of their patents, and wants the United States International Trade Commission to ban the import of Asus Computer products into the US until they get their pound of patent flesh. This could get very interesting, because Asus makes computers under their own name, but also makes computers for other big brand names such as Apple and Dell.
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.
Asustek had a licensing pact in place with IBM until the end of 2004, so it appears that IBM thinks Asus has kept on using IBM technology long after they forgot IBM's address. It's unclear if the Asus Eee PC is included in the products alleged to be infringing on IBM's patents.
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.
Asustek had a licensing pact in place with IBM until the end of 2004, so it appears that IBM thinks Asus has kept on using IBM technology long after they forgot IBM's address. It's unclear if the Asus Eee PC is included in the products alleged to be infringing on IBM's patents.
