HTC has launched a new lawsuit against Apple in the UK on July 29th, according to a report from Bloomberg. No details about the suit have surfaced as of yet, but the move comes in the midst of an ongoing, back and forth patent battle royal between the two firms, and the new suit is likely (though not necessarily) part of that dispute.
July was a busy month in that fight, as it included
- The news that the U.S. International Trade Commission ruled that Apple was infringing on two patents owned by S3 Graphics
- The news that HTC then bought S3 and its patents
- The news that the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office had ruled those patents unpatentable before the HTC purchase
- The news that it was Mac OS X that violated said unpatentable patents, not iOS, and that Macs that shipped with an Nvidia graphics processor were covered through an implied license.
- The bigger news that HTC’s Android devices violate two of Apple’s patents (patents that have thus far held up)
- The news that HTC CEO Peter Chou wasn’t worried about the patent battle with Apple, though his company is also “ready to negotiate” with Apple
- And now the news that HTC is launching a new suit in the UK
The case was filed with the High Court of Justice, Chancery Division (London). We will no doubt have additional coverage of this development as details emerge.
7 Comments Leave Your Own
It seems that HTC so delights in the distractions of litigation that it has decided to start another pleasant distraction in the U.K. Perhaps, that is what HTC’s CEO meant when he said that Apple’s provisional victory at the ITC was a distraction. What he meant, it seems, was that he is a masochist who enjoys the pleasure of a judge handing HTC’s head to him.
Perhaps HTC is trying a new strategy, which would be lots of fun if adopted by its OHA and Android partners. Sue Apple first before they sue you. Then it looks like you’re the real innovator and Apple is just counter-suing because it has to. I wonder if Apple has a patent on that marketing gimmick.
Bosco: Suing first, as HTC has done in the U.K., only works if you win the lawsuit or can settle it on favorable terms. So we will have to see whether suing first is Apple-like innovation or is simply the usual Android-like derivative stuff that backfires with a finding of infringement against HTC.
Suing first lets you add silly statements like, “we love competition, but our competitors need to innovate, not steal our IP” to the accompanying PR without a hint of irony.
Hash tag… #PRExercise
The courts will determine who among Apple and its opposing parties is being ironic.
Wouldn’t it be nice if Apple, sitting on the top of the world as they are, set a precedent of Christian ilk and put its enormous weight behind abolishing this heinous and immoral practice. Imagine a world where ALL developers of software could innovate freely unhindered by the fatuous claims of those who got to the patent office first with an idea.
amergin, it sure would. What would really make a perfect world would be the wealthy paying their fair share of taxes like they did in the 50s, interest groups are banned from coming within 10km of any senator, congressperson or any government employee, that FOX news actually presenting real news, opposition parties worked with the party in power for the good of the country, and Willie Nelson elected President in the next election.
I would start with Willie and work backwards in the order of points of importance.
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