Apple sues HTC for patent infringement

By on Mar 2, 2010 at 10:02 AM
Breaking March 2, 2010

After talking to HTC when they were giving us a preview of the HTC Hero a while back, we asked about multitouch and why they finally decided to include it. More or less, the response we received was that HTC and their legal team felt confident about including it, and with other competitors like Palm including multitouch, everything would be alright. Fast forward to literally a couple minutes ago, and we now find Apple filing suit against HTC regarding everything from hardware to the iPhone’s user interface. Let’s see if you can figure out who gave this quote:

“We can sit by and watch competitors steal our patented inventions, or we can do something about it. We’ve decided to do something about it. We think competition is healthy, but competitors should create their own original technology, not steal ours.”

If you said Steve Jobs, you’d be correct. Full press release after the break.

CUPERTINO, Calif. March 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Apple® today filed a lawsuit against HTC for infringing on 20 Apple patents related to the iPhone’s user interface, underlying architecture and hardware. The lawsuit was filed concurrently with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) and in U.S. District Court in Delaware.

“We can sit by and watch competitors steal our patented inventions, or we can do something about it. We’ve decided to do something about it,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “We think competition is healthy, but competitors should create their own original technology, not steal ours.”

Apple reinvented the mobile phone in 2007 with its revolutionary iPhone®, and did it again in 2008 with its pioneering App Store, which now offers more than 150,000 mobile applications in over 90 countries. Over 40 million iPhones have been sold worldwide.

© 2010 Apple Inc. All rights reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, Mac, Mac OS, Macintosh and iPhone are trademarks of Apple. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners

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  • mingkee

    Will it happen that we have to forced to buy iphone or no phone?! Or is Apple becoming hostile against all other manufacturers?

  • Alex

    HTC or anyone who uses Apple ideas should get permission before incorporating those features into their devices. It’s just fair and respectful.

    • http://www.edoubleclicks.com John Green

      Man, DON’T DO THAT.

  • Oz

    It was reported in the Los Angeles Times today that Google secured “a patent to use location data in ads.”

    From the tenor of this discussion, which is largely bashing Apple for trying to enforce its patents, it would seem that Google should just forget it. After all, if they ever tried to act against any company that infringed upon the patent, we would insist that they were evil.

  • Boycott Apple

    Join the group to show support of how ridiculous this lawsuit is!

    http://www.facebook.com/pages/Boycott-Apple/350260026008?ref=mf

    !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • Boycott Google

    Boycott Google!

    They just secured a patent. Might as well start now!!!!!!!

    • Art

      Google. BOYCOTT. Jackass!

      • Oz

        Yes, it is ALL very silly, isn’t it? You got that right!

  • nork

    First they sued Nokia, Then MS, and now HTC.. For sure, Google’s Android will be sued next… I wonder when will Apple call their secret weapon though?

    • http://appleinfringement? ted

      Nork, How is at&t their “secret weapon” when they’re according to at&t they’re launching 5 android devices this year? Apple is losing friends, as obviously subscribers.

    • http://easeintotheswitch.com/ mikeb

      I’m pretty sure Apple hasn’t sued Microsoft since the 80s or early 90s.

      Also, Nokia sued Apple and then Apple counter-sued.

      Apple did sue HTC, though. I doubt they’ll sue Google until Google starts shipping a phone.

  • J
  • Nokia N900

    I know Nokia is glad they didn’t add multi-touch to their operating system yet.

  • Kirbdaddy

    If Apple had any balls, they would go after Google. Sadly, they don’t.

  • Dan

    Whoa… let’s keep a sense of perspective… I think what Apple’s doing here sucks, and I think it will fail… but wishing someone would die because they’re engaged in patent litigation? That’s a bit harsh.

  • SomeYoungGuy

    Damn you Apple. This is why I don’t buy your products.

    • MikeD

      They’re doing fine without your business y’know.

      • Dan

        They’d be doing better with it.

  • zanzabar

    apple wants 2010 to be 1984, as imagined by george orwell, an imaginary dark world in which the only choice one has in terms of a smartphone is the iphone! shame on apple.

  • Patrick Moto Droid

    Maybe Apple is suing HTC because they charge money for something with the Android OS. Google gives it away for free, correct? Or am I way off on this one? Either way, I don’t see this affecting the consumer. It definitely would alienate Android users from ever trying out iphone. Talk about cutting off your nose to spite your face. Keep up the good work apple.

  • Nico

    Apple may have changed the phone world back in 2007. And I thank them for that. We have a lot of awesome phones coming up in the future. And way more phones that are better than the current iPhone. Apple seems worried about Android overtaking the iPhone. Also, it seems that many people plan to ditch their iPhones for the HTC DESIRE (or Nexus One) or HTC HD2. HTC is making some good phones and Sense UI is way more fun, intuitive and useful than the iPhones fast becoming outdated UI. All that is keeping my iPhone 3G is a few apps that I haven’t found for Android yet. My HTC Magic, although outdated already, is more fun to use than my iPhone 3G. I won’t buy another iPhone. I probably will keep my 3G. I will be getting an Android running 2.1 with a 1Ghz processor. It will likely be a HTC, as I love the Sense UI. HTC does Android (and WinNi) best. That obviously scares Apple..

    • MikeD

      I wish these nut on BGR would grow the hell up.

      So let me ask you hypocrites a question. If Apple copied the HTC Sense UI, what would you be saying? well? c’mon, you mean to tell me HTC wouldn’t have a right to fire up a lawsuit?

      There have been many lawsuits thrown around. Nobody complained around here. But Apple changed the mobile phone industry, everybody is obviously copying Apple and you think they have no right to sue?

      Anybody and I mean anybody bitching about this Apple lawsuit is absolutely out of touch with the reality of business. Any company has the right to protect its intellectual property.

      • NateKM

        Pretty much the way that Apple wrote the patent, you can’t argue that htc is not violating it, and I don’t have a problem with that. However, I do not understand how you could possibly have granted this patent to Apple in the first place. I mean really go an read the patent, its not difficult and it’ll take 2 minutes. It looks to me like if it were truly enforced, you could not have a device with a touch screen that used gestures of any kind. Who’s got greasy palms from granting this patent?

      • http://easeintotheswitch.com/ mikeb

        There are 20 patents in the Apple v. HTC lawsuits, by the way.

      • Jay

        Right, like the steering wheel in a car…why didn’t Ford think of that?

    • http://www.applebythehour.com Jarrett

      Isn’t the current iPhone 9 months old? Apple probably has no plan for a better phone though right?

      • Dan

        Only time will tell that, Jarrett. What we know right now is that (a) you and other iPhone users are hoping and praying they have a plan for a better phone and (b) the competition already does have a better phone and more and more people are using it.

  • Copycats and Leeeches

    Think of the the pharmaceutical industry for a moment. Via patents, the manufacturer of a brand-name drug is allowed a reasonable amount of time to recoup its considerable investment in bringing the drug to market before generic drug makers can simply swoop in and reap the benefits with their generic drugs.

    In this case, Apple has been innovative in producing the iPhone, and Android is the generic drug. But some of us don’t want Apple to even TRY to protect it’s investment! It really is a ridiculous stance.

    Without legal protections for intellectual property, the pace of technological and other advancements would be reduced to a mere trickle. Big companies with big ideas about how things could be different simply wouldn’t take the chance of investing millions of dollars to produce new, exciting products like the iPhone.

    The copycats and leeches should NOT be given a free ride. Apple should be allowed to try to keep others from IMMEDIATELY ripping off its innovations and simply riding on its coattails.

    Instead of casting ourselves in the role of judge and jury, why don’t we just let the courts decide exactly if and how that should occur in this case?

    Of course, the real reason some people are so eager to condemn Apple’s legal attempts right now is that they are already either using the generic drug or have become invested in it in some other way. But that doesn’t make it right.

    • MikeD

      Well said.

    • SadPanda

      I agree with what you are saying in the first half. There needs to some way of forcing companies to invent new things.

      However, in this case, claiming that these companies are stealing ideas (lets use pinch zoom for an example) you’re basically say that since Xerox was the first ship mice with their PC’s that everyone else that followed is now somehow stealing this brilliant idea.

      Stealing an entire operating system is one thing, but using a small piece of it (such as pinch zoom) is another. For as smart as the people at Apple are…they are actually a bunch of idiots.

      • Oz

        Listen, the details of the individual patents don’t matter that much except that they MAY contribute to the desired result of protecting that particular aspect of the innovation that Apple believes is their essential contribution. If you are in Apple’s position, you bring all the possible tools to the table and then just hope that they help. This is not idiotic because it depends on the courts. (For example, you can be sure that Apple’s purpose is not to protect against others applying the idea of pinch-zoom.)

        As was mentioned elsewhere: “Competition is good but rules are an important part of any good competition. This is why competitive sports require either a referee or an umpire. When a so-called competitor is breaking the rules, the referee steps in. If your opponent seems to be cheating, you consult with the referee. In business, the way you consult with the referee is by filing a lawsuit.

        Apple is simply consulting with the referee, and it makes perfect sense.”

    • Sure

      Google is not generic. If Google is generic, stop using its search engine, and go back to 99′ with Microsoft crap. Apple didn’t invent touch screen technology, nor is anything on the Iphone actually NEW. Accurate, yes, new, or anything ground breaking, hardly.

  • Dave Id

    Pot. Kettle. Black.

    • http://www.applebythehour.com Jarrett

      I think you left out some words there.

    • Dave

      Amen!

  • MikeD

    It is very simple folks. Either you defend your patents, or you lose the rights to those patents. This applies to all companies and not just Apple.

    This blind fanboyism is toxic and prevents a honest debate. Almost all the BGR comments seem to be emotional spats.

    Also BGR needs to moderate these comments threads. Its far too easy to see that there is a campaign to abuse the “-” marks to anything not pro-Android/Google. Its just getting worse and worse around here.

    • Dan

      “Either you defend your patents, or you lose the rights to those patents”

      No, in fact, you don’t. Patent rights are not lost as a result of failing to prosecute people who infringe… at most, you lose the licensing fees that should be paid to you for others using technology that infringes on your patent, if said patent if valid and enforceable. But the validity of your patent is *never* endangered by others using it without consent. Never.

      You’re probably conflating trademarks and patents. A patent gives you exclusive rights to your invention. A trademark serves as a source identifier. It functions to prevent confusion in the marketplace between two competing products (Clorox bleach v. generic bleach, e.g.). If you let others use your trademark without protecting it, it ceases to serve as an identifier of the particular goods you have produced, negating the reason for its existence and any intrinsic value it has. Accordingly, you do lose a trademark if you fail to prosecute people when they improperly use your mark.

  • MicroNix

    Why doesn’t Palm sue Apple for using its touch sensitive screen technology? After all, Apple did *not* invent that. Or how about MS who has had touching and holding the screen to change function for years. I think what most people are saying here is that the “patents” that Apple is claiming is BS to begin with. Hell, I’m going to take out a patent today for holding up your middle finger to imply “F*** You” and I’m going to sue the whole world for infringement. What Apple has done is not some innovative thing…it took what was already present in Palm and MS devices and improved upon it. Improving on existing ideas isn’t worth a patent, though it shows how f’d up and without a clue the patent process is.

  • The world if full of dummies

    The facts of life are that patenting exists, and probably will for a long time. Therefore Apple has a right to defend their patents however “dumb” some of you educated people believe it is. You can display your disapproval by simply not giving Apple your money and buy whatever phone you want. They all make calls, and browse the internet, anything else is just “preference”

    • Jay

      Not if Apple has its way though right?

  • http://www.bigfloridacountry.com Scott

    Does anyone remember having to use that dang stylus, and if you could use touch it was nothing like the iphone came out with.
    I had a tilt, and before that another htc product.
    It was frustrating to use.

    I dont understand why people dont understand why Apple is upset. they came out with something that blows away everyone else’s touchscreen. Why would they let other companies take it.

    • Jay

      My HTC Hero blows away your inhibited, unupgradable, out-of-date iPhone.

      Sounds like Steve should be taking HTC ideas and inventing something better instead of wasting time making more enemies such as Google, HTC, Adobe, Sun, etc.

  • Noel

    Question…Which Company is cranking out the bulk of smart/Windows and Android phones nowadays…..Hmmm let me guess…that would be HTC. Lets try again…Question….which Company makes phones that are more of a threat to the iphone this days….hmmmm let me guess again….that would be HTC….Folks there you have it. The point is everyone this days is going Gaga over Htc phones and that scares the hell out of the big boys. Htc started making touch screen phones of some sort b4 the iphone…ok apple took that and improved on it w/ the iphone…now Htc has taken that and improved it to another level. Fellows we all must have seen how cars were way back then…now compare that to the way cars are now…as humans we will constantly improve/ and inovate the technology we have…the iphone did not invent touch screen phones…they improved on what the other phone makers like Htc, Palm etc already had out there. I guess most Cell phone Manufacturers like Nokia, Htc, Motorola, Blackberry etc b4 the iphone came along can sue apple for something. The iphone will do just fine no need to fret…compitition is good for the maket place….benefits the consumer….all of us

  • http://www.youtube.com/Jeromeo1980 Jeromeo

    Checkout this article about Apple adding ‘new’ gestures to it’s iPhone OS.
    http://www.9to5mac.com/long-press-3tap-iphone-gestures-435983467#comment-70878

    I bought my Nokia N900 back in Novemer and it has all of those gestures:

    Rotate clockwise to zoom in, rotate counter-clockwise to zoom out, hold/long press to bring up a right-click menu, swipe from right to left to go back (in the browser), swipe from left to right to bring up an on-screen mouse, & triple tap to hilight all text.

    I find it hypocritical for Apple to sue companies like HTC for gestures like ‘swype to unlock’ when other companies have clearly pre-dated them in adapting many other gestures into their OS without getting upset over it.

    I’m just excited that gestures are being integrated across all platforms so natural motions will function similarly on many devices regardless of the manufacturer.

    A door lock can be turned with a key clockwise/counter-clockwise, swiped with a card vertically/horizontally, thumbprint scanned, rfid tagged, but is eventually judged by the consumer based on quality, price, support, longevity, usability, and security. Not by the gesture it requires to use them.

    My N900 swype to unlock screen is jittery while my sister’s iPhone’s unlock is fluid. I am envious of her iPhone’s smoothness-Everywhere, the sick amount/variety in the app store, and constant development/OS updates; she is jealous of my N900′s ability to view Adobe Flash on web pages, my ability to not only open a video or mp3 from Gmail but save that file to any folder I choose, play music over her FM car radio with no wires or accessories, connect it over non-proprietary USB to the PS3 and watch a video stored on it, send any file I choose from it to any other Bluetooth device (apart from her iPhone) without paying for an app, changing channels on the TV over IR without an adapter, and being able to use widgets.

    People should be able to choose a device based on their own personal needs, but all devices should share some commonality in natural functionality (i.e. laptops all have keyboards for text input, or laptops all fold up). Certain companies will do things better. Always. I am just happy to see a start toward unification of usability.

  • jiminsd

    Apple will sue HTC and not the others because HTC has less patents to their name, weeding through Motorola arsenal of patents they may find that they have infringed on Motorola patents..HTC is a safer bet.

  • RT

    stop spamming us ass, get lost

  • AusFest

    We like BGR its where we all go to be fanboys about what we like most. You should go spam engadget, that would be funny. See you there, not here.

  • AusFest

    I guess not, so what your saying is Readers Are Stupid?

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