HP / GATEWAY BATTLE GETTING (more) UGLY: In separate patent-related announcements, Gateway on Monday said its first-quarter loss was about $6 million wider than it had reported, and that it has filed several counterclaims against HP in a patent lawsuit between the two companies.

The two patent matters are not related, said Bob Sherbin, a Gateway spokesman. The $6 million increase in Gateway's net loss is connected with an increase in a reserve account that was prompted by developments in settlement negotiations in a patent related matter, Sherbin said.

Gateway is not providing any additional details on that pending settlement, but the matter will become clear very soon, Sherbin said.