U.S. trade commission probes HP after Acer complaint

TAIPEI, Dec 3 (Reuters) - The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) is investigating whether printers and computer systems made by Hewlett-Packard (HPQ.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) infringe patents belonging to rival Acer Inc (2353.TW: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz).

An ITC statement issued last week and sent to Reuters by Acer on Monday, said the investigation was based on a complaint filed by Taiwan's Acer, the world's third largest computer seller, on Oct. 30.

The ITC did not say when it might reach an initial decision on the case. Acer did not comment further on the case, and a Hewlett-Packard spokeswoman in Singapore declined to comment.

With Acer making headway in capturing market share in the global personal computer sector, competition between the two rivals has intensified.

Palo-Alto based Hewlett-Packard, the world's top PC seller, sued Acer in March for patent infringement, aiming to stop the Taiwan firm from selling some products in the United States.

In July, Acer countersued the U.S. firm for patent infringement.

The ITC offers another avenue to resolve patent disputes, with some companies prefering a process that can be faster than court cases.

Shares of Acer declined 0.88 percent by 0304 GMT on Monday, underperforming a 0.42 percent rise on the broader market . (US$1=T$32.3) (Reporting by Sheena Lee, editing by Doug Young and Dominic Whiting)