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HTC countersues Apple; claims patent infringement
by Priyanka - May 13, 2010 - comments
HTC in its defense said that Apple’s accusations are baseless and the company is prepared to “fully defend” itself. Ever since then market experts were suggesting that HTC will be making some kind of move to challenge Apple.
Taiwanese cell phone manufacturer HTC Corp. on Wednesday countersued Apple Inc. for allegedly infringing five of its patented technology in its devices such as iPhone, iPod and iPad.
In the complaint HTC has requested the authorities to halt the import and sales of all the Apple devices that infringes its technology without its prior permission.
“We are taking this action against Apple to protect our intellectual property, our industry partners, and most importantly our customers that use HTC phones," said HTC VP for North America Jason Mackenzie after the filing.
The 32-page HTC complaint claims that Apple is violating its two patents related to power management and three for telephone directories.
"The industry should be driven by healthy competition and innovation that offer consumers the best, most accessible mobile experiences possible,” added Mackenzie.
Apple remained unavailable for the comment on this new development.
Start of the whole issue
Back in March, Apple filed a patent infringement complaint against HTC, claiming that the Taiwanese manufacturer violates 20 of its iPhone patents.
“We are taking this action against Apple to protect our intellectual property, our industry partners, and most importantly our customers that use HTC phones," said HTC VP for North America Jason Mackenzie after the filing.
HTC in its defense said that Apple’s accusations are baseless and the company is prepared to “fully defend” itself. Ever since then market experts were suggesting that HTC will be making some kind of move to challenge Apple.
Some experts even suggested that Apple went after HTC because it’s an easy target compared to search giant Google, whose software HTC uses in its devices.
HTC giving back what it got
As per market analysts who are keeping eye over the whole issue, HTC’s this move was not really a surprise since the company has made it clear back in March (when Apple sued it) that it will try to protect its interest.
“Let’s face it, suits beget counter suits. I can’t imagine that HTC has any patents that Apple is violating. I think it’s a ploy to slow the settlement process,” said Charlie Wolf, an analyst at Needham & Co. in NY.
Another analyst Van Baker at Gartner research added, "It's tit-for-tat to a degree because Apple sued HTC first and this is HTC fighting back."
He also believes that this lawsuit war has to end somewhere because it’s highly unlikely that any one of them will be shut out of the market, one thing they all seek in their complaints.
"Ultimately, the whole patent portfolio issue needs to be addressed and resolved,” added Baker.