HTC brings Apple tussle to UK courts

HTC has sued Apple in the UK courts, continuing a legal battle between the two companies that started in March 2010.

HTC has brought its legal battle with Apple over technology used in Android smartphones to the UK. Photo credit: Cindy Andrie/Flickr

The High Court cannot release details of the new suit, filed on 29 July, until Apple formally acknowledges the complaint. This has not yet taken place, nor has either company openly commented on the suit.

However, it is the first time that the fight between Apple and HTC has made its way to Europe. Until now, the dispute has been heard in US district courts and at the US International Trade Commission (ITC).

HTC is a leading Taiwanese manufacturer of Android smartphones and tablets. In March 2010, Apple sued HTC in a Delaware district court and at the ITC, claiming 20 patent violations in total.

According to Apple, HTC's Android phones were infringing on iPhone-related patents such as those concerning multitouch. HTC's countersuit came just over two months later, with the company complaining to the ITC that Apple was infringing on HTC's patents.

Limited success

Both HTC and Apple have met with limited success in their cases. HTC's success is linked to patents it picked up when it bought the graphics visualisation firm S3 on 6 July. Only days before that, S3 won an initial ruling from the ITC against Apple over two texture compression patents.

On 27 July, the ITC judge published a clarification of his judgment, saying Apple's iOS products did not violate the two S3 patents in question, though Mac OS X did. On Monday, The Wall Street Journal reported that HTC was to appeal the ITC's S3 ruling, saying it did not go far enough.

In Apple's suit, the ITC ruled in an initial determination on 15 July that HTC's smartphones infringe on two of the 10 patents put forward in the case. Apple has since filed a second suit against its rival with the ITC, saying that the HTC Flyer tablet and other devices use its technology for scrolling and touchscreens.

ITC battleground

One reason the ITC is becoming a favoured battleground for technology companies is the fact that the agency is able to ban the import of goods if they are found to violate patents.

If the initial judgements are upheld by ITC panels later this year, HTC will not be able to sell its Android smartphones and tablets in the US, nor will Apple be able to sell its Mac desktop and laptop computers there.

On 26 July, HTC indicated it was open to a fair settlement — as it sued Apple in the UK three days later, it may not have found reciprocity on Apple's side.

According to software patent expert Florian Mueller, the new suit demonstrates HTC's "determination to keep fighting", but the Taiwanese firm may still not get its way.

"No matter in how many countries HTC may file lawsuits against Apple, it won't be able to change anything about Apple's objectives," Mueller wrote in a blog post on Monday. "Apple optimises for product differentiation, not patent licensing revenues."