Apple's request for HTC ban delayed again

The US International Trade Commission's decision on stopping HTC products from entering the country has been delayed for a second time.

Apple is suing handset-maker HTC with the ITC in a bid to get the Taiwanese firm's goods banned from the US.

The ITC was supposed to be announcing its decision on the patent infringement case later today, after postponing the verdict once already from December 6.

But HTC said that the commission had once more put off the final judgement, according to Bloomberg.

The ITC, which normally releases a notice of any delays, has not issued any statement.

The initial ruling in the case, by an ITC judge, found that there had been an infringement of IP on two of the patents in the suit brought by Apple and its subsidiary NeXT Software, although not on two others claimed by the fruity firm.

If the full commission upholds this determination, HTC's mobiles will become forbidden phones in the US.

The decision will have a huge impact on HTC, which has already been suffering in the smartphone sector as its handsets fail to gain ground on market leaders Apple and Samsung. ®