This week, Quanta Computer Inc. sued Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Inc. in federal court in the Northern District of California. Quanta is a Taiwan-based contract manufacturer of notebook computers, which assembles notebooks for companies such as HP, Dell, and Acer. In its complaint, Quanta alleged that AMD sold defective chips that Quanta used in manufacturing notebooks for NEC Corp. According to Quanta, the chips failed to meet the specified heat-resistance threshold, resulting in computer malfunction.
AMD spokesman Michael Silverman denied the allegations and stated that AMD no longer sells the chip in question. He also said that Quanta had admitted to using the same chip in other notebooks manufactured for NEC, with no problems.
As the case is still in its initial stages, the information available is limited. For example, it’s unclear whether NEC will be taking any role in the case or it has already come to an informal arrangement with Quanta. It would appear, depending on the circumstances, that Quanta may be liable to NEC for any damages NEC might have sustained from selling the defective computers. At the very least, Quanta ought to have been testing and/or inspecting the components, and if it failed to do so, it would bear responsibility as to NEC. On the other hand, AMD’s statement implies that the defect may have been actually caused by Quanta’s handling and assembly of the components; though, as a defendant, AMD is hardly objective here, and it remains to be seen how much accuracy this statement contains. There is also not much information so far as to actual consumer complaints concerning the defective notebooks, which were mainly sold in Japan.
Comments are closed.