IBM is asking the U.S. government to ban imports of some computers made by Taiwan's Asustek Computer Inc , alleging that the products infringe three IBM patents. IBM said on Thursday it filed a complaint against Asustek and its North American subsidiary, ASUS Computer International, with the U.S. International Trade Commission.

It said the patent infringement occurs in Asustek's own-brand computers as well as in products the Taiwan contract manufacturer makes for other brands. IBM did not name the other brands.

Asustek's customers include large computer companies 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.