• Apple Sues HTC for over 20 Patent Infringements

    Apple Sues HTC for over 20 Patent Infringements

    Techtree News Staff, Mar 03, 2010 1332 hrs IST

    Specific patents point at HTC s Android OS based devices copying iPhone UI, hardware and architecture

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After the Apple-Nokia showdown, Apple has filed a suit for about 20 Apple iPhone related patent infringements against HTC. This is something unusual as we don't get to see these things from a company like Apple that has been sued every other month over iPhone-related technology. The 20 Apple patents relate to iPhone's user interface, hardware and underlying architecture that have been infringed by the accused - HTC. 

Apple's lawsuit has been filed at U.S. International Trade Commission and in the U.S. District Court in Delaware. Apple CEO Steve Jobs said, in an official statement, "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." HTC, on the other hand, is entirely surprised over such heavy accusation over both Windows Mobile and Google Android based smartphones. 

The specific patent break down has been represented in three different ways by three different websites - Engadget, Gizmodo and AppleInsider. Not only that, even ITC had filed series of OS-level patent infringement complaints against HTC.

Specific Patents:

  • Patent #7,362,331: Time-Based, Non-Constant Translation Of User Interface Objects Between States
  • Patent #7,479,949: Touch Screen Device, Method, And Graphical User Interface For Determining Commands By Applying Heuristics
  • Patent #7,657,849: Unlocking A Device By Performing Gestures On An Unlock Image
  • Patent #7,469,381: List Scrolling And Document Translation, Scaling, And Rotation On A Touch-Screen Display
  • Patent #5,920,726: System And Method For Managing Power Conditions Within A Digital Camera Device
  • Patent #7,633,076: Automated Response To And Sensing Of User Activity In Portable Devices
  • Patent #5,848,105: GMSK Signal Processors For Improved Communications Capacity And Quality
  • Patent #7,383,453: Conserving Power By Reducing Voltage Supplied To An Instruction-Processing Portion Of A Processor
  • Patent #5,455,599: Object-Oriented Graphic System
  • Patent #6,424,354: Object-Oriented Event Notification System With Listener Registration Of Both Interests And Methods
  • Patent #5,481,721: Method for providing automatic and dynamic translation of object oriented programming language-based message passing into operation system message passing using proxy objects
  • Patents #5,519,867 and #6,275,983: Object Oriented Multitasking System and Object-Oriented Operating System
  • Patent #5,566,337: Method and apparatus for distributing events in an operating system
  • Patent #5,929,852: Encapsulated network entity reference of a network component system
  • Patent #5,946,647: System and method for performing an action on a structure in computer-generated data
  • Patent #5,969,705: Message protocol for controlling a user interface from an inactive application program
  • Patent #6,343,263: Real-time signal processing system for serially transmitted data
  • Patent #5,915,131: Method and apparatus for handling I/O requests utilizing separate programming interfaces to access separate I/O service
  • Patent #RE39,486: Extensible, replaceable network component system


On looking closely to the specific patents, Apple basically targeted Android OS based mobile devices, thereby fire-balling Google through HTC. Even the lower-OS level patents from ITC create a concern for Google to pitch in. Google spokesperson said in an official statement, "We are not a party to this lawsuit. However, we stand behind our Android operating system and the partners who have helped us to develop it."

As per Gizmodo, HTC has given its comment on Apple's patent file suite:

We only learned of Apple's actions based on your stories and Apple's press release. We have not been served any papers yet so we are in no position to comment on the claims. We respect and value patent rights but we are committed to defending our own innovations. We have been innovating and patenting our own technology for 13 years.

Will this be yet another never ending courtroom battle between Apple-HTC just like the ongoing Apple-Nokia issue? As of now, HTC is aghast with Apple's suit and will have to do loads of homework to come up with good explanation.

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