Federal Judge turns away Apple protests, HTC patents likely to stand
I hate writing about patent news, but I can’t deny that every time I come across something positive for an Android OEM a part of me wants to cheer them on in their battle. This time, it’s HTC that brings us some good tidings, with the Federal Judge in their lawsuit against Apple turning away the Cupertino-based company’s claims that the patents in question should be invalidated because HTC bought ADC Telecommunications Inc with the sole purpose to use the IP aggressively. I guess the law book that they have states that it’s OK when they do it, but not the other way around.
Thankfully, Judge Thomas Pender has decided to keep the case moving forward, saying:
“I don’t care if they bought these patents to sue you or not. They are a property right. Clear and convincing means something to me. I have to be pretty darn certain a U.S. patent is invalid.”
The lawsuit primarily centers around LTE technology, which HTC claims they are a pioneer in since they brought the first LTE-enabled touchscreen devices to the US and that 4G was central to their entire 2011 strategy. Since LTE is a standard, there’s always the issue of the patents falling the in the FRAND category and it seems highly unlikely Apple would face an import ban on the iPad and the upcoming iPhone.
I hope they good money for it, though. If Samsung devices looking like Apple’s, or having slide-to-unlock or overscroll-effects cost Apple $1 billion in terms of revenue, then I’m pretty damn certain LTE on Apple devices cost/will cost HTC as much, if not more.