Hewlett-Packard filed suit against Acer on Tuesday, alleging the infringement of five patents. HP is seeking compensation from Acer and a U.S. subsidiary of the company for allegedly selling PC products in the U.S. that infringe on its patents, according to court documents. The complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.

HP alleges that the Taiwanese company knowingly violated the patents, which are related to optical drives, clock frequency switching and power consumption. HP is seeking a jury trial and compensation for the use of its technology in Acer PC products, as well as treble damages for intentional violation of the patents and the payment of all its legal fees.

HP became the world's largest PC vendor in the fourth quarter of last year, according to market researcher IDC. Acer took fourth place, although it clocked the strongest growth by any company in the top ten ranking. Dell Inc. was second, and Lenovo Group Ltd. took third.