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Apple sues HTC – it’s all kicking-off

by Scott Bicheno on 2 March 2010, 15:28

Tags: Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), HTC (TPE:2498)

Quick Link: HEXUS.net/qawfj

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Patently unfair

Apple filed a lawsuit against Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC for allegedly infringing on ‘20 Apple patents related to the iPhone's user interface, underlying architecture and hardware.' The suit was filed with both the U.S. International Trade Commission and in U.S. District Court in Delaware.

CEO Steve Jobs had the following to say on the matter: "We can sit by and watch competitors steal our patented inventions, or we can do something about it. We've decided to do something about it. We think competition is healthy, but competitors should create their own original technology, not steal ours."

This is pretty typical of the kind of sanctimony that tends to accompany such legal action. "Other companies must compete with us by inventing their own technologies, not just by stealing ours," said Bruce Sewell, Apple's general counsel, when it countersued Nokia last December.

Nokia legal veep, Ilkka Rahnasto, said the following when it brought the action against Apple last October: "By refusing to agree appropriate terms for Nokia's intellectual property, Apple is attempting to get a free ride on the back of Nokia's innovation." 

As ever it will be down to the lawyers to sort this out, but we can't help recalling a Wired report of a Jobs comment at the end of January: "We did not enter the search business," he said of Google. "They entered the phone business. Make no mistake they want to kill the iPhone. We won't let them."

The product he was referring to was the Nexus One and, as we all know, it's manufactured by HTC. Coincidence?

 



HEXUS Forums :: 11 Comments

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Meanwhile at the apple headquarters…

There product is vaquely similar but better… SUE THEM!!!!!
I hate these patent cases, vague patents that cover everything & anything. Hope Apple get thrown out.
‘20 Apple patents related to the iPhone's user interface, underlying architecture and hardware.'

Probably stuff like:

Low power CPU
Touch screen
2 Finger zoom
Double-tap
etc
The patent office needs a good sort out tbh. I'm actually beginning to wonder whether or not they're making money on the side by granting these stupidly abstract patents…
This always seams to me to be like one lawyer had a smart idea.

Pay me to sue someone for you. The other company immediately retaliates with their lawyers, they both find infringments and make a peer'd agreement.

The lawyer wins.

The lawyer then finds another company to sue. At the end of the day its the Apple and HTC shareholders who will foot the bill, and the consumer. Oh well, at least I don't own an apple anything!