Apple has filed a lawsuit against HTC for patent infringement on 20 different Apple patents related to the iPhone, including aspects of the user interface, hardware and some of the architecture. HTC is currently the largest manufacturer of Android powered smart phones and there is a good chance one or more of these aspects are part of your favorite Android phone. We’ll have to keep a close eye on the outcome of these events as they could seriously affect your next Droid. It is interesting Apple is not going after Google, but HTC instead. Since some of the items in the lawsuit are releated to user interface and “underlying architecture” they could be specific to the Sense UI or something completely unrelated to Android and Google.
There is still a chance that Apple is trying to attack Google and Android from the side instead. Maybe Apple decided to go after HTC because they didn’t want to challenge Google and it’s money directly. Not many details are available on the specific 20 items Apple is upset about, but those will probably come to light soon. However, Apple’s CEO Steve Jobs did have this to say:
“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.”
Well, let’s hope this doesn’t end up affecting the Android OS and let’s hope HTC and/or Apple can work things out and get along. Keep your fingers crossed Android doesn’t end up in the middle of this.
UPDATE: Well, looks like my wishful thinking was just that, wishful. The details have come forth and they aren’t good. Engadget has some information pertaining to the inclusion of Android devices specifically and Android OS specifically. So, apparently Apple doesn’t want to attack Google directly, but wants to go through HTC to get to Google:
We’ve just learned that Apple submitted over 700 pages of exhibits to the District Court, which is a little nuts. In addition, the ITC complaints lists a number of specific HTC handsets as exhibits, including the Nexus One, Touch Pro, Touch Diamond, Touch Pro2, Tilt II, Pure, Imagio, Dream / G1, myTouch 3G, Hero, HD2, and Droid Eris. That’s really a full range of HTC phones, running both Android and Windows Mobile, with and without Sense / TouchFLO. Interestingly, the Android sets are specifically included because they run Android, while the WinMo sets are called out specifically for including DSP chips, not anything to do with Windows Mobile.
Finally here are some of the patents that Apple claims are being infringed upon:
- The ’331 Patent, entitled “Time-Based, Non-Constant Translation Of User Interface Objects Between States,” was duly and legally issued on April 22, 2008 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
- The ’949 Patent, entitled “Touch Screen Device, Method, And Graphical User Interface For Determining Commands By Applying Heuristics,” was duly and legally issued on January 20, 2009 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. A copy of the ’949 Patent is attached hereto as Exhibit B.
- The ’849 Patent, entitled “Unlocking A Device By Performing Gestures On An Unlock Image,” was duly and legally issued on February 2, 2010 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. A copy of the ’849 Patent is attached hereto as Exhibit C.
- The ’381 Patent, entitled “List Scrolling And Document Translation, Scaling, And Rotation On A Touch-Screen Display,” was duly and legally issued on December 23, 2008 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. A copy of the ’381 Patent is attached hereto as Exhibit D.
- The ’726 Patent, entitled “System And Method For Managing Power Conditions Within A Digital Camera Device,” was duly and legally issued on July 6, 1999 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. A copy of the ’726 Patent is attached hereto as Exhibit E.
- The ’076 Patent, entitled “Automated Response To And Sensing Of User Activity In Portable Devices,” was duly and legally issued on December 15, 2009 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. A copy of the ’076 Patent is attached hereto as Exhibit F.
- The ’105 Patent, entitled “GMSK Signal Processors For Improved Communications Capacity And Quality,” was duly and legally issued on December 8, 1998 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. A copy of the ’105 Patent is attached hereto as Exhibit G.
- The ’453 Patent, entitled “Conserving Power By Reducing Voltage Supplied To An Instruction-Processing Portion Of A Processor,” was duly and legally issued on June 3, 2008 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. A copy of the ’453 Patent is attached hereto as Exhibit H.
- The ’599 Patent, entitled “Object-Oriented Graphic System,” was duly and legally issued on October 3, 1995 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. A copy of the ’599 Patent is attached hereto as Exhibit I.
- The ’354 Patent, entitled “Object-Oriented Event Notification System With Listener Registration Of Both Interests And Methods,” was duly and legally issued on July 23, 2002 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. A copy of the ’354 Patent is attached hereto as Exhibit J.
