mschere, the real question is whether HP or Compaq would even need a license with IDCC given that their contract manufacturer, HTC, is now licensed. If the contract with HTC states that HTC will pay the royalties on behalf of customers like HP/Compaq for every device manufactured for them, then IDCC need not go after HP. However, I suspect that the wording is similar to contracts with NEC and Sharp, which states that HTC can manufacture for others and the royalty will be collected at the point where the unit is sold into the channel.
If, however, HTC does pay royalties on the iPAQ's or other devices manufactured for operators such as Orange, then IDCC would not collect additional royalties downstream. This gives IDCC and companies like HP some flexibility in terms of where the royalties get paid. This would be a good question for IDCC.