Quanta Computer’s troubles began seven years ago with a warning letter from Intel, one of its major suppliers. It informed Quanta that Intel was licensing certain patent rights from LG Electronics but this license “does not extend … to any product that you may make by combining an Intel product with any non-Intel product.” In other words Quanta could continue purchasing computer chips and chipsets from Intel, but Quanta–as well as other Intel customers–wasn’t allowed by the patent license to use these products to make computers.
Quanta thought the limitation wasn’t enforceable, but LG soon attempted to prove otherwise. In early 2001 the South Korean firm filed patent infringement suits against Taiwan-based Quanta and eight other Intel customers.
