Sometimes, you can’t get a break. That could be the thinking at Android handset maker HTC, which now faces another trade complaint by Apple. Tuesday, the U.S. International Trade Commission announced it launched an investigation into whether five Apple patents were violated.
The new complaint focuses on HTC’s Flyer tablet and many of the company’s smartphones. The ITC could block imports of the devices into the U.S., giving Apple’s iPhone and iPad an even greater edge.
Just last month, the ITC ruled HTC had violated 10 Apple patents, prompting a whirlwind of speculation whether the decision could be used as a weapon against Android device manufacturers. Although HTC denied it violated any patents, saying it “respects intellectual property”, the company’s leader recently intimated it was willing to discuss a deal with Apple.
Patents have become the new wedge issue in the mobile market. HTC recently found its newly-purchased $300 million patent deal was not infringed upon by Apple. The patent arms race caused Google to recently blast Microsoft and Apple over their $4.5 billion purchase of a trove of Nortel patents. The tech giant is also bidding for a group of InterDigital patents used by Apple, Android and BlackBerry phones, turning the once sleepy realm of patents into a high-stakes horse race over who will own the technology behind the mobile revolution.
