Apple Goes After HTC In Lawsuit Over 20 iPhone Patents

by Erick Schonfeld on Mar 2, 2010


Apple is using its strong patent portfolio to fight iPhone competitors in court. Its latest target is HTC. Apple has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against the cell phone manufacturer. The suit involves “20 Apple patents related to the iPhone’s user interface, underlying architecture and hardware.”

Steve Jobs is quoted in a press release saying: “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. We think competition is healthy, but competitors should create their own original technology, not steal ours.”

The lawsuit could be a way to go after Android, although Android is not mentioned in the press release. HTC manufactures some of the most successful Android handsets, from the first G1 up to the latest Nexus One. HTC’s touchscreen Android phones are the most similar to the iPhone. If that is the case, the lawsuit is a shot across Android’s bow and a warning to all Android manufacturers.

This is not the first time Apple has gone after a mobile phone competitor. It is involved in similar patent litigation with Nokia. That lawsuit is more about Apple trying to get Nokia to license its patents. And the HTC suit may have the same motivation.

Apple thinks it owns the concept of the touchscreen Web phone and it wants other cell phone makers to pay for copying the iPhone. Who will Apple sue next? Motorola? Palm? Research in Motion?
HTC probably makes the best phones currently. It's interesting that Apple didn't go after Google directly. HTC puts a upgraded UI onto it's android smart phones called "sense" that includes some pretty cool features (clock/contacts/home screen widgets) but nothing that I would see as a iPhone copy. The decision to finally release multi touch on Android was where I thought Apple was gonna freak.