Apple sues HTC over 20 patent infringements

Tech giant Apple has sued handset manufacturer HTC for allegedly infringing on several of the company’s patents relating to its user interface designs and technology.

The lawsuit comes after the company has also targeted handset giant Nokia for allegedly infringing on its patents, with the Finnish company counter-suing for similar alleged violations.

In its lawsuit, Apple said HTC had infringed 20 patents related to the “iPhone’s user interface, underlying architecture and hardware”. Chief executive Steve Jobs said in a statement the infringements were outright theft.

“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.”

The suit has been filed with both the US District Court in Delaware and the US International Trade Commission. The ITC cannot award damages, leading analysts to suggest that Apple is seeking a ban on importations of HTC products.

In the suit, Apple mentions a number of specific handsets including the official Google phone, the Nexus One, along with the Touch Pro, Touch Diamond, Touch Pro2, Tilt II, Pure, Imagio, Dream, HD2 and Hero handsets.

It has also been pointed out by some analysts and bloggers the lawsuit specifically mentions the Android operating system, suggesting Apple has a specific problem with either the system’s features and abilities or the way the HTC handsets actually implements those features.

The Taiwanese manufacturer has been one of the most successful makers of Android phones, and is achieving good sales in the US with the official Google Nexus One handset.

Some of the patents, which date back as far as 1995, revolve around touch-screen activities including the ability to unlock a touchscreen by making a finger gesture.

The patents include:

• List scrolling and document translation, scaling and rotation on a touchscreen display.
• Unlocking a device by performing gestures on an unlock image, which analysts have cited as interesting considering most touchscreen phones involve some type of gesture-based unlocking movement.
• System and method for managing power conditions within a digital camera device.
• Automated response to and sensing of user activity in portable devices, a patent that covers the ability of the iPhone to switch-off the touchscreen when a user puts the device to his or her ear.
• Message protocol for controlling a user interface from an inactive application program, a patent which actually covers the ability for an application to perform a task in the “background” – a feature lacking on the iPhone but quite prominent on Android-based phones.

The lawsuit comes after Apple has sued Nokia for infringing on several patents, some of which are included in the lawsuit against HTC. Nokia has countersued, with both cases ongoing.