Apple's patent victory against HTC that could lead to every Android phone being banned

It’s a controversial court ruling in favour of Apple that could ultimately even lead to the ban of all Google Android phones and tablets in the U.S.

Apple has won a preliminary ruling from a U.S. trade panel that Taiwanese handset maker HTC infringed on two of its patents.

HTC uses Google's Android operating system for its smartphones

The preliminary ruling is already creating a buzz as it is one of the first between Apple and other smartphone makers using Android.

The win could see Apple take on other Android handset makers or demand an import ban to the U.S. against HTC, reported The Guardian

The patents relate to data processing and cover actions such as the device recognising phone numbers and being prompted to call them.

Apple is unhappy that Android contains a similar ‘analyser server’ for ‘detecting structures in the data’.

VentureBeat reported patent expert Florian Mueller as saying: ‘I have looked at those patents before and they appear to be very fundamental


They are very likely to be infringed by code that is at the core of Android.
'This could in a worst-case scenario result in an import ban against many or even all Android-based HTC products in the U.S. market.’

It follows a wealth of patent litigation between Apple and Samsung, which also uses the Android; Apple and Nokia; and Microsoft and Motorola.

HTC says it will ‘vigorously fight’ the finding by an International Trade Commission judge last week, but the full commission is yet to make a decision.

Android-based smartphones have outpaced iPhones

Apple initially accused HTC of infringing 10 patents but six were dropped from the case and the

ITC judge ruled that HTC infringed two of the remaining four.

A final determination in the case is due on December 6. Apple filed a parallel lawsuit against HTC in a court in Delaware.

‘We are confident we have a strong case for the ITC appeals process,’ HTC General Counsel Grace Lei said.

‘(We) are fully prepared to defend ourselves using all means possible.’

Shares in HTC tumbled as much as 6.5 per cent on Monday

19/07/11 - dailymail.co.uk

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