UPDATED 11:05 EDT / DECEMBER 20 2011

Apple Takes a Bite out of HTC with Latest Patent Court Win

With all the lawsuits piling up on the cabin of mobile space, it’s no wonder there’s a department dedicated to patent infringement for each major player in today’s market. Federal courts have been an extension of the battleground within the mobile fight fest, and Apple’s just taken a small victory over HTC.

Apple VS Google, HTC

The court has just released their decision on the HTC case and it’s good news for Apple, in a case against archrival, Google’s Android.  According to a WSJ report, the International Trade Commission has found substantial grounds that confirm Apple’s allegations identifying some HTC smartphones that used Android OS to have infringed their patents. As a result, HTC will have to halt global shipping of affected smartphones to the US by April of 2012. This can clearly hurt the Taiwanese brand, which is currently ranked as the second largest manufacturer of Android phones in the world. To avoid massive losses, HTC vowed to remove feature that has been found to violate Apple’s exclusive rights. This is strike two for HTC, as they initially took a blow last November when ITC dropped their case against Apple for the same contention.

Google has repeatedly and vehemently denied copying iPhone or iOS patents. Taking a swing at Apple, the search engine says that Apple’s legal bullying escapade is a way to control the smartphone market in the US.

HTC Mourns, Microsoft Rejoices

The victory of Apple over HTC and Android has made another company happy– perhaps the real winner here is Microsoft.  Apple would love to singlehandedly knockout Android to secure its own leadership, but silently praying in a corner is Microsoft’s dreams to fill in any gaps Android leaves behind.  Hardware design is opening up for the mobile realm, and Microsoft’s begun implementing its own strategy around Android licensing and cross-device integration.

Samsung, Motorola VS Apple

If Apple is celebrating after a big triumph in its latest win against Google Android and HTC, the opposite is becoming true regarding its fight with Samsung. The South Korean-based manufacturer has beaten the world’s favorite brand twice.

Although a Steve Jobs-less Apple prevailed in Germany, their bullying powers are not enough in the American soil and the Land Down Under.  In the first Samsung victory, they successfully lifted the US ban for Galaxy lines. This resulted to a counter allegation that Apple infringed their 3G wireless technology. A parallel decision was pronounced in Australia and Apple’s appeal to ban all Samsung tablets in the country was dismissed. But the Apple-Samsung slap-me-with-a-lawsuit saga doesn’t seem to be nearing an end anytime soon.  Their battle is already an epic one and as Kristina calls it: a perpetual hell.

Last week, Motorola scored a grand victory over Apple as well. The ruling cited Apple as guilty for patent infringement on Motorola’s technology. This particularly pertained to Ireland-based Apple Sales International and covers devices like iPhone, iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPad 3G and iPad2 3G. The settlement amount was pegged at $134 million, or 100 million Euros.

Suing competitors has become a staple act within the mobile sphere. This may look as if we have a big and colourful circus on our hands, but a slight of the hand could rapidly disrupt the stability of an organization.  An unfavourable court decision could usher a company into a state of financial and integral calamity. With this in mind, one can’t help but wonder at the effectiveness of such brutal court cases, but it’s a necessary step in establishing authority and revenue rights for an industry moving forward.


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