October 21, 2009 - A Texas-based company called U.S. Ethernet Innovations has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against several computer manufacturers, alleging infringement of a patent entitled "Network Interface with Host Independent Buffer Management." The patent is No. 5,299,313 and was issued in 1994 to 3Com.
The link between 3Com and the complainant wasn't immediately clear, but it appears that the company had purchased the patents from 3Com.
U.S. Ethernet Innovations alleges that the Apple MacBook Pro infringes the '313 patent, as do Acer, ASUS, Dell, Fujitsu, Gateway, Hewlett Packard, Sony and Toshiba.
The lawsuit was filed in the US District Court in the Eastern District of Texas in early October.