HTC will fight Apple's patent lawsuits: highlights its own innovations

Paul Nesbitt

HTC has come out swinging in its defence against Apple's patent lawsuit alleging that it unlawfully uses iPhone technology in its smartphones.

HTC said it would fight Apple's lawsuit head on, rather than come to an out of court settlement or accede to Apple's demands.

Apple's suit filed with both the ITC and a US District Court demands that HTC be banned from selling, marketing or distributing smartphones (that infringe on Apple's patents) in the US. Around half of HTC's sales are to the US, so losing to Apple could be devastating for the company.

'HTC strongly disagrees with Apple's actions. We plan to use all the legal tools we have at our disposal to both defend ourselves and set the record straight,' said HTC VP Jason Mackenzie. 'We feel confident in our innovation and our ability to defend ourselves in this case.'

MacKenzie did not reveal whether HTC planned to countersue Apple, which is a common strategy for companies which have been sued over alleged technology infringements. Almost everyone in the smartphone market is using technology developed by rival companies, and many already have signed cross-licence deals for patented work.

The HTC phones which allegedly infringe Apple's technologis include the Hero, Dream, myTouch and the Nexus One, which is Google-branded. All run Google's Android OS.

It is generally accepted that Apple's suit against HTC is part of a wider battle with Google, whose Android OS is a threat to Apple's iPhone business.

HTC is keen to distance itself from the reputation that most Far Eastern contract manufacturers created little new of value.

'We were working on our first touchscreen smartphone in 1999,' said Mackenzie. 'That eventually came to market in 2002 as the XDA phone in Europe, and the T-Mobile Pocket PC Phone in the U.S. Since that time we launched over 50 smartphones, and are fortunate to have relationships with most of the carriers in the U.S. We have been recognized as an innovator by our carrier partners.'

HTC CEO, Peter Chou also issued a statement listing HTC's record of technological innovation: 'From day one, HTC has focused on creating cutting-edge innovations that deliver unique value for people looking for a smartphone,' he said. 'In 1999 we started designing the XDA and T-Mobile Pocket PC Phone Edition, our first touch-screen smartphones, and they both shipped in 2002 with more than 50 additional HTC smartphone models shipping since then.'

In a statement HTC cited six examples of its 'technology firsts'

    ▪    First Windows PDA (1998)
    ▪    First Windows Phone ( June 2002)
    ▪    First 3G CDMA EVDO smartphone ( October 2005)
    ▪    First gesture-based smartphone ( June 2007)
    ▪    First Google Android smartphone ( October 2008)
    ▪    First 4G WIMAX smartphone ( November 2008)

Google issued a new statement about the case, in which it has already expressed its support for HTC: 'The Android platform has seen tremendous adoption all over the world, and we are proud of all our partners who have made it such a success.

'In less than a year and a half since HTC shipped the first Android device, there are now 26 devices with 60 carriers in 49 countries and 19 languages powered by Android. In fact, Android partners now ship 60,000 devices per day, up from 30,000 devices per day just a few months ago.'