The ongoing legal spat between Apple and HTC has just taken another turn. Certain HTC phones will be banned from sale in the US from 19 April 2012, as the International Trade Commission ruled the Taiwanese company infringed an Apple patent.
Yet HTC is chuffed with this, the BBC reports. HTC is calling it "a win" because it only impacted one patent, as opposed to the 10 Apple initially claimed. Silver linings, and all that.
"We are very pleased with the determination and we respect it," reads a statement from HTC.
The patent relates to a feature in the user interface called 'data tapping'. This lets you grab embedded information, like a phone number or email address, and use it somewhere later on. It sounds a lot like Copy and Paste to us, so it must have something to do with how HTC employs it. HTC said it would remove the feature from all its phones soon.
Analysts say this shouldn't impact the company's US business. If it does remove the feature, only old handsets still using it will be banned. And if they're already on sale, they'll be ancient by April, so it shouldn't be too much of a blow.
In this case, six charges of alleged patent infringement were dropped. An ITC judge ruled HTC infringed two of the remaining four patents, and in this final ruling, it was decided only one had been infringed. Ah, the merry-go-round that is patent infringements.
Apple is still embroiled in disputes all over the world, most notoriously with Samsung, which also manufactures parts for Apple devices. The latest twist between the two was that a US judge refused to ban Samsung smart phones and tablets -- this was after Samsung already redesigned its tablet, which it must've been a bit peeved about. HTC previously accused Apple of infringing its patents -- a judge ruled against HTC in a preliminary hearing, but the final decision is expected in February.
Should they all get in the festive spirit and put their legal disputes behind them? And maybe have a good old sing-song? Or is Apple right to pursue these copycats in the courts? Let us know below or on our Facebook page.
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Comments 10
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shauney3 20 December, 2011 09:15
It's all very boring now, I wonder how they manage to patient certain things in the first place as they are so general! I'm off to go patient 'burnt toast...'
Peter Hudson 20 December, 2011 10:26
Shauney3, I think you will find that apple already own the patent for "applying heat to any bread or bread like product to create another snack" They'll probably sue you and have toasters and fire banned in the uk.
anonymous 20 December, 2011 14:42
Hey CNET,
Are you guys going to start using (and promoting) your Google+ page more now that they are rolling out multi-admin support (not sure if you noticed that announcement...check the google blog).
Anyway...to the story at hand. Seems like Apple's legal disputes are running out of breath a bit? Hopefully we'll all be able to move on soon...
musicman96 20 December, 2011 14:50
god apple are so pathetic
Andrew Dixon 20 December, 2011 17:43
Kiddies will stomp they're feet won't they, don't apple realise they are seriously becoming the laughing stock now......give it a rest please !
Loadit 20 December, 2011 21:06
Don't stop apple let them keep till they run out of money and go bust.
Loadit 20 December, 2011 21:08
Sorry meant to say let them keep on making lawyers rich till they run out of money.
Think I will go into this lawyer business seems a good money maker at the moment.
anonymous 20 December, 2011 22:04
It's pathetic and clearly Apple are doing it in attempt to boost sales of the iPhone. I think that the companies should be allowed to use the same technologies and the 'winner' is the one who uses it best.
anonymous 21 December, 2011 02:31
I'm in the process of patenting the patent process. That'll learn 'em...
Naryan 21 December, 2011 09:37
Breaking news:
A division of the Apple legal team has accused HTCs lawyers of indirectly laying claim to company intellectual property in court last week even as they defended their clients, due in part to Apple's allegedly pre-existing patent over "stretching and vibrating vocal chords at various frequencies to pass air though the ingestion port located in the lower half of the human face in an attempt to produce assorted oral sounds based largely upon the shape of the port at the given time in order to express a predefined message to one or more others aware of the same possible set of meanings that could be assigned to each independent sound."
Referred to by some as "talking" or "speaking", Judge Imman Idiote of the High Court said in a hearing yesterday that this had put Apple in a "very strong" position.