Back in March, Apple sued Taiwanese company, HTC for infringing on 20 of their iPhone patents. Today, according to Fortune, HTC has issued their formal response--a counter-suit. The suit involves five patents, which according to Gizmodo, are related to power management, personalized phone dialers, and having a telephone dialer with "easy access memory."
According to the filing, HTC is also asking that the U.S. International Trade Commission block all imports of iPhones, iPods, and iPads. HTC's Vice President of North America, Jason Mackenzie, explains the company's actions by saying:
"As the innovator of the original Windows Mobile PocketPC Phone Edition in 2002 and the first Android smartphone in 2008, HTC believes the industry should be driven by healthy competition and innovation that offer consumers the best, most accessible mobile experiences possible. We are taking this action against Apple to protect our intellectual property, our industry partners, and most importantly our customers that use HTC phones."
Similar words were spoken by Apple CEO, Steve Jobs, back when their lawsuit was filed. The difference, however, is that HTC's public statement stresses the importance of protecting its customers. When Apple sued HTC, Jobs' reasoning was:
"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."
No further information is available regarding Apple's pending lawsuit against HTC. It will be interesting to see how this counter-suit affects the already sensitive situation. Perhaps the two companies could work out some sort of cross-licensing deal and call it a day. It also remains to be seen whether or not Google will get involved.
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