HP sues two N.H. resellers

Hewlett-Packard is suing two small New Hampshire high-tech resellers, charging that they are selling products with the HP trademark that were actually not made by Hewlett-Packard.

The suits, filed Jan. 6 in federal district court in Concord, named Netria Corp. of Exeter and its president, William F. McKone, and PMT Partners LLC of Hampton and its agent and manager, Jeffrey Pilibosian.

The separate suits both charge that the companies sold miniature gigabit interface converters — a transceiver that converts electric signals to optical signals and vice versa — with counterfeit labels.

The company – with $86 billion in annual sales – complained that they had been “irreparably harmed” by the two companies’ actions, and urges the court to grant it unspecified relief.

Netria, which has roughly 10 employees, obtains computer equipment at a discount – often through companies around the world — and sells it to local small businesses at a discount, explained its attorney, Cameron Shilling

The company “absolutely operates within the trademark law by requiring assurances from vendors, including getting serial numbers on the product, but sometimes a vendor gives them a product that’s not authentic. We are committed to work with Hewlett-Packard to find out why they believe that the product was counterfeited, and if it is, to avoid it ever happening again,” Schilling said.

The company – which learned about the suit from a reporter – would have done the same thing if HP had simply called it.

Pilibosian had no comment on the lawsuit until he talked to an attorney. But on its Web site, PMT said that it searches the “worldwide marketplace” to bring its customers “the best quality lowest-price new and surplus equipment available,” claiming to pass on savings of 35 to 80 percent off of list price. – BOB SANDERS