HTC is hoping to turn the tables on Apple in the early stages of what could be a long intellectual-property battle unfolding in the media spotlight. On Wednesday, the Taiwan-based smartphone maker filed a complaint with the United States International Trade Commission (ITC) to block Apple from importing or selling the iPhone, iPad and iPod in the U.S.
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HTC, widely known for its success manufacturing smartphones based on Google’s Android operating system, alleges that Apple is infringing on its patents. HTC’s legal response comes less than three months after Apple launched its first IP missive against the company, claiming that HTC’s phones that run Android trespass on five of Apple’s patents.
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I think patent suits will be an ongoing issue, not just between players like Apple and HTC, but an issue in the broader industry as we move toward the traditional vertically integrated voice world to more of the multimedia environment where the complexity of the devices becomes much more important, said Phil Marshall, a wireless analyst at Yankee Group.
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HTC’s Legal Maneuvers
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Jason Mackenzie, vice president of HTC’s North America operations, reminded the IP world that the company was the first to launch a smartphone based on Android in 2008. He noted HTC’s belief that healthy competition and innovation should drive the industry, and then spelled out the company’s complaint against Apple.
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We are taking this action against Apple to protect our intellectual property, our industry partners, and most importantly our customers that use HTC phones, Mackenzie said. HTC claims Apple is infringing on three of its patents related to telephone directors and two patents for power management.
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Analysts suspected HTC was up to something when HTC inked a deal to use Microsoft’s intellectual property in its Android devices in late April. Microsoft’s patent agreement with HTC gives the Taiwanese handset maker broad coverage…