I’m sure most in the mobile space are fed up with all the patent disputes flying around, most seem to involve Apple as the company seems dead set against any device that runs the Android platform, like the recently banned Samsung Galaxy Nexus over in the US. However what a US judge considers an infringement doesn’t necessarily mean a judge in another country will rule the same, and this has happened in the fight between Apple and HTC over here in the UK.
According to the guys over at Phone Arena by way of Bloomberg, Apple took HTC to court in the United Kingdom over patent violation of touch screen tech including the slide-to-unlock feature. But here in the UK, HTC had defeated Apple in the courts with Judge Christopher Floyd ruling that HTC does not infringe 4 Apple patents, and furthermore 3 of those patents are invalid.
Apparently the only Apple patent that the court said was valid is to do with scrolling on the photo management app, but still the court says that HTC doesn’t infringe on that patent either.
Stevens & Bolton LLP analyst Peter Bell, who isn’t involved in the case has said that the ruling “marks a considerable defeat for Apple in the smartphone patent wars. Two of Apple’s prize patents have been knocked out in the U.K.”
The two other Apple patents in dispute in the case are one that relates to multi-touch functionality on a touch screen, and the other is to do with changing alphabets, whilst the 4 same patents are the matter of an Apple versus HTC case that will be heard in a German court later in the year.
Obviously HTC are happy with the outcome, but have said that they are disappointed that Apple continues to favour competition in the courts rather than in the marketplace, whilst Apple’s response is that competition is healthy, but competitors should create their own original tech and not steal theirs.