Patent war: HTC lodges a new filing against Apple

The day after hearing that Google would be acquiring Motorola Mobility, and all associated patents, manufacturer HTC has filed a new complaint against Apple in a Delaware court for three patent violations.

The Taiwanese manufacturer hasn’t wasted any time. Hardly a day after the announcement that Motorola Mobility and its 17000 patents would be acquired by Google, HTC has filed legal papers against Apple for three patent violations in their Mac, iPod, iPhone and iPad products.

An important element in this filing is that it was made with a court in Delaware in the United States known for being severe for patent violators. The Taiwanese manufacturer has requested that the distribution of all incriminating products be blocked in the United States, along with compensation to be paid for damages for knowingly using these patents without paying the required royalties.


Balanced movements
Apple has already filed numerous charges with this court against HTC over the last few years, but with the support of Google and their new weapon of patents acquired from Motorola Mobility, the times appear to be changing – allowing the manufacturer to vigorously defend the multiple attacks made against them (which are notably targeting the Android platform) over the last few months.

Even though some analysts believe that Google’s acquisition of Motorola Mobility could bring prejudice against HTC in the medium term, if Google decides to become a Smartphone manufacturer rather than just a backer of Android, this initiative is visibly good news for the Taiwanese manufacturer who is on the front line in the defence of Android against Apple.

According to Reuters, who references the official documents, the patents being referenced in the legal filings were obtained by HTC in 2008 and 2010. The filing will at least allow the company to balance the scales against Apple, opening the way for a new round of negotiations.