InterVideo, located in Fremont, Calif., is asking the court to enjoin Dell from manufacturing, selling or importing products that infringe patents tied to its Linux-based InstantOn technology. The software allows a DVD to automatically start playing a movie when a user inserts a disc into a computer running an InterVideo program. The suit concerns U.S. Patent No. 6,765,788.
InterVideo filed its complaint with the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.
A Dell representative said the company won't comment on outstanding litigation but said the company was made aware of the lawsuit only after InterVideo issued its statement.
This is not the first legal tussle between the two companies. In 2002, InterVideo issued 350,000 shares of its stock to Dell to settle patent infringement claims related to its WinDVD product.
InstantOn lets customers connect their PC with other consumer electronics equipment so they can watch TV, play music, browse photos and enjoy DVDs, InterVideo said.
Last year, InterVideo settled two patent infringement lawsuits against Taiwanese PC maker Acer. Those suits were also related to InstantOn.
Reuters contributed to this report.
