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Apple accuses HTC of iPhone tech theft

Lawsuit launched

Apple has begun legal proceedings against HTC, alleging the Taiwanese phone manufacturer has used iPhone technology without its say-so.

The Mac maker claimed HTC has infringed almost two dozen of its patents, all touching on the iPhone's UI, underlying software architecture and the hardware design.

Apple filed a complaint about the matter with the Delaware US District Court - known for its reputation for taking a dim view of patent infringement if successfully proven - and the US International Trade Commission (ITC).

Getting the ITC on the case is widely seen by litigious companies as a way of accelerating the judgement process. If the ITC adjudicates in Apple's favour, it can seek a ban on the import of HTC handsets, and the iPhone maker's case is considerably strengthened in the court case. Generally, the ITC takes less time to rule on such a case than the US court system does.

Apple is already engaged in legal combat with Nokia - both firms claim each nicked the other's phone technology - and Kodak. ®

Scary stuff

The '599 Patent, entitled "Object-Oriented Graphic System," was duly and legally issued on October 3, 1995 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. A copy of the '599 Patent is attached hereto as Exhibit I.

The '354 Patent, entitled "Object-Oriented Event Notification System With Listener Registration Of Both Interests And Methods," was duly and legally issued on July 23, 2002 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. A copy of the '354 Patent is attached hereto as Exhibit J.

These two patents mean that Apple basically own the rights to almost every Graphic User interface system in use today. Unbelievable. Who allows these things? I was under the impression that software cannot be patented? I don't understand

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patent system in a mess = this

yeh this was bound to happen.

you let anyone patent an obscure piece of 'tech' or software, who isnt even the original inventor of said tech, and this is what you get.

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Ridiculous

Ridiculous. The iPhone came with technology developed by others, and now Apple is suing? This can only work because they know their way around the local lawyers better!

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Too many patents

I think at least part of the problem is the generally poor level of many of the patents. I don't know which patents are involved in this case, but in general there seem to be a lot of cases over patents for the blindingly obvious or for things which have been in use for many years (particularly in the UI field).

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Going through the motions of modern commercial warfare

It's not about who is right or wrong, patent litigation is one of the weapon in the arsenal of tech firms to make competitor's life harder. But in the long run this one will be as successful as whatever has been attempted in the past against Microsoft....

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