Ina Fried

Recent Posts by Ina Fried

HTC Bites Back Against Apple, Suing With Patents It Got From Google

In the latest wireless patent suit to join the increasingly large pile, HTC has reportedly filed a suit against Apple, upping the ante in the already large-stakes legal battle between the two companies.

What makes this particularly interesting is that, according to Bloomberg, the patents that HTC is using to sue Apple are ones that were recently in Google’s hands. According to Bloomberg, the patents were transferred to HTC in the last two weeks.

Patent-related suits have cropped up across the wireless industry, but Android and those that use it have been among the biggest targets. Google is being sued directly by Oracle, while HTC faces legal action from Apple and Microsoft is suing Motorola and Barnes & Noble over their use of Android.

HTC and Apple’s dispute dates back to March of last year when Cupertino brought its first legal action against the Taiwanese cellphone maker. More recently, HTC has brought complaints against Apple in both federal court and before the U.S. International Trade Commission.

Apple and HTC representatives were not immediately available for comment on the latest suit.

Latest Video

View all videos »

Search »

I think the NSA has a job to do and we need the NSA. But as (physicist) Robert Oppenheimer said, “When you see something that is technically sweet, you go ahead and do it and argue about what to do about it only after you’ve had your technical success. That is the way it was with the atomic bomb.”

— Phil Zimmerman, PGP inventor and Silent Circle co-founder, in an interview with Om Malik