Patent war escalates: HTC sues Apple using Google patents
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San Francisco - Taiwanese device maker HTC Corp has filed a lawsuit against Apple Inc, claiming that the iPhone maker infringed on eight HTC patents, five of which were assigned to HTC last week by Google, Bloomberg News reported late Wednesday.
The move on Tuesday came just weeks after Google Inc agreed to pay 12.5 billion dollars for Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc, saying it wished to gain control of the cellphone pioneer's 17,000 patents in orde rto protect its Android operating systems from infringement claims.
Apple has taken the offensive in recent months against manufacturers of Android devices like HTC, Samsung and Motorola. A court in Germany last week agreed to Apple's request to ban the import of tablet computers made by Samsung Electronics Co because of the likelihood they infringe Apple's patents.
The HTC lawsuit contends that an array of Apple products, including the Mac computer, iPhone, iPod, and iPad infringe on patents for upgrading software wirelessly; transferring data between a microprocessor and a support chip; storing user preferences; and providing consistent contact between application software and a radio modem.
Other patents in the case include an interface to enlarge characters being typed, a way to display information on mobile devices, and a status bar that lets users check phone calls, text messages and other notifications.
In addition to the lawsuit, HTC also amended an earlier complaint to the US International Trade Commission which has the power to ban patent-infringing products from the market.
"HTC will continue to protect its patented inventions against infringement from Apple until such infringement stops," the company's general counsel Grace Lei said. "We believe that we have an obligation to protect our business, our industry partners and our customers, who love using our products."//DPA
The move on Tuesday came just weeks after Google Inc agreed to pay 12.5 billion dollars for Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc, saying it wished to gain control of the cellphone pioneer's 17,000 patents in orde rto protect its Android operating systems from infringement claims.
Apple has taken the offensive in recent months against manufacturers of Android devices like HTC, Samsung and Motorola. A court in Germany last week agreed to Apple's request to ban the import of tablet computers made by Samsung Electronics Co because of the likelihood they infringe Apple's patents.
The HTC lawsuit contends that an array of Apple products, including the Mac computer, iPhone, iPod, and iPad infringe on patents for upgrading software wirelessly; transferring data between a microprocessor and a support chip; storing user preferences; and providing consistent contact between application software and a radio modem.
Other patents in the case include an interface to enlarge characters being typed, a way to display information on mobile devices, and a status bar that lets users check phone calls, text messages and other notifications.
In addition to the lawsuit, HTC also amended an earlier complaint to the US International Trade Commission which has the power to ban patent-infringing products from the market.
"HTC will continue to protect its patented inventions against infringement from Apple until such infringement stops," the company's general counsel Grace Lei said. "We believe that we have an obligation to protect our business, our industry partners and our customers, who love using our products."//DPA
