Smartphone Skirmish – "Google Proxy" HTC retaliates against Apple through patent lawsuit

The Technology Wars between Google,Apple,Microsoft ,Nokia and others is getting more intense and interesting by the day.Smartphones is the segment where we are seeing the greatest competition with even non-mobile players like HP (through Palm),Dell and Acer making forceful entries.The market leader Nokia has steadily been losing marketshare to Apple and Google and trying to fight back through management changes and patent suits on its own

Apple recently sued HTC over patent infringement indirectly targeting Google which uses HTC to make its Nexus One phones.HTC today tried to retaliate back by suing Apple back for infringing on its patents.However HTC is a bit player in the larger scheme of things.Its patent portfolio is quite small compared to that of Apple or Nokia which have a huge number of patents generated through their monstrous R&D expenditure.This suit will not have any major impact on either of the parties in my view , its a small skirmish in the larger war being fought by these Technology Giants

HTC sues to block iPhone, iPad, iPod sales – Reuters

In a complaint filed with the ITC and obtained by Reuters, HTC accused Apple of infringing five of its patents related to cellphone directory hardware and software and power-management technology in portable devices. HTC’s action was widely expected after Apple filed a patent infringement suit against the company in March.

Apple’s move against HTC was seen as a proxy for an attack on Google Inc. Taiwan’s HTC makes smartphones based on Google’s Android software, which has gained ground on Apple’s popular iPhone.

In the complaint dated May 12, HTC said Apple violated patents on technology that helps devices like the iPhone manage power and handle phone directories, and on technology that enables the just-launched iPad tablet computer to store data when in “sleep” mode, among other applications.

HTC is seeking a ban on importation, marketing and sale of Apple’s popular mobile devices in the United States. Apple, whose products are made in countries such as China, declined comment.

For its part, Apple accused HTC of infringing 20 patents. In addition, Apple filed a complaint with the ITC and also sued HTC in the U.S. District Court in Delaware.

“We are taking this action against Apple to protect our intellectual property, our industry partners, and most importantly, our customers that use HTC phones,” Jason Mackenzie, HTC’s vice president for North America, said in a statement.