Your move, Steve
Everyone knows the stakes are high as the tech companies jostle for supremacy in the mobile Internet era, and the amount of litigation over mobile phone patents of late illustrates that perfectly.
Apple seems to have filled the breach left by traditional litigation targets Microsoft, Intel and Qualcomm. The massive success of the iPhone and, it seems, the iPad, mean it is very much at the head of the pack when it comes to mobile devices and this is inevitably leading to friction with the companies it has overtaken.
Possibly the two incumbents with the biggest stake in the smartphone market are Nokia and HTC and, funnily enough, these are the two that are locked in patent litigation combat with Apple. To be fair to Apple, Nokia started it last October and Apple soon returned the favour. Apple's newly invigorated patent lawyers then decided to have a pop at HTC, which manufactured the first Google phone.
Inevitably HTC is now suing Apple back - filing a complaint with the International Trade Commission and asking it to halt the importation and sale of the iPhone, iPad and iPod in the United States. HTC has come out with the usual platitudes about protecting itself and its customers, but it seems highly unlikely that the sale of Apple stuff will be halted.
Apparently one of the patents in dispute - concerning power control technology for electronic devices - was only granted the day before HTC filed its complaint. This also seems to be the only patent that doesn't just apply to just the iPhone, so it looks like a bit of opportunistic patent filing to us.
HTC is effectively raising the stakes - as is standard practice when you counter-sue. It comes only a week after Nokia counter, counter-sued Apple in Wisconsin, alleging the iPhone and the iPad 3G infringe on five speech and data transmission patents. Your move, Steve.
