Compaq Claims Patent Infringement in Suit

Compaq Computer Corp. has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Westlake Village-based Packard Bell Electronics Inc., charging that Packard Bell willfully infringed upon three patents used in producing Compaq’s desktop and laptop computers.

Packard Bell denied the charges and said it will defend itself against the action, filed late last month in U. S. District Court in Houston.

The patents cited in the suit are involved with power functions and video display systems.

Houston-based Compaq is one of the world’s largest producers of personal computers. Packard Bell, which has announced that it plans to move to the Sacramento area, has emerged as one of the biggest players in the highly competitive consumer PC market.

In a statement, Mal Ransom, Packard Bell’s vice president for marketing, said the firm “believes that Compaq has no basis for its lawsuit.”

“Packard Bell stands behind all of its products and rights, and intends to defend the company vigorously against what we consider groundless claims,” he said.