Apple sues HTC – yet again
The ongoing battle of the patents takes another turn with confirmation that Apple has lodged a new suit against its rival.
Apple has claimed HTC is breaking patent agreements for its own mobile handsets.
The latest filing from Apple at the Delaware District Court claims HTC was breaking four of its patents for the use of software in its smartphones.
However, it is not the first row between the two rival firms.
Back in March, Apple filed a complaint, both to the Delaware court and the International Trade Commission (ITC), claiming that HTC broke 10 patents around touch screen capabilities on the Nexus One.
HTC responded with its own counter-suit, and it claimed Apple had infringed five HTC patents, calling for a ban on the sales of iPods, iPhones and iPads until the case was resolved.
Apple is still embroiled in a case with Nokia and one with Kodak, but the former has been called to a halt whilst Steve Jobs' boys clear up the other cases at their door.
Strung Robertson, a technology lawyer for international law firm Pinsent Masons, told IT PRO recently: "It is a bit of an arms race. What often happens is that large companies build patent portfolios to use for offensive purposes and also defensive purposes."
Get the ITPro. daily newsletter
Receive our latest news, industry updates, featured resources and more. Sign up today to receive our FREE report on AI cyber crime & security - newly updated for 2024.
He added: "What you get is one company threatening another with patent litigation and the company that is threatened might be able to fire back and say 'Well, if you are going to raise this issue, we will bring up this other patent that we have that we think your other technology might be infringing'."
Jennifer Scott is a former freelance journalist and currently political reporter for Sky News. She has a varied writing history, having started her career at Dennis Publishing, working in various roles across its business technology titles, including ITPro. Jennifer has specialised in a number of areas over the years and has produced a wealth of content for ITPro, focusing largely on data storage, networking, cloud computing, and telecommunications.
Most recently Jennifer has turned her skills to the political sphere and broadcast journalism, where she has worked for the BBC as a political reporter, before moving to Sky News.
The Open Cloud Coalition wants to promote a more competitive European cloud market – but is there more to the group than meets the eye?
"Our goal is to transform partner success": Cisco just announced a major overhaul of its partner program – here’s what you need to know
Dropbox layoffs continue as firm cuts another 20% of staff