HTC infringed Apple patent - ITC

HTC's Android phones, and most likely all Android phones, may become a little bit harder to user. This is because Apple Inc. recently won a patent case against HTC, in regards to the capability of HTC phones to scan for phone numbers and e-mail addresses in a text, and then perform an action when they are tapped by the user. The US International Trade Commission ruled that HTC infringed this specific patent, as Apple alleged.

Because of this decision, the ITC banned HTC from exporting some of its Android 2.2 phones that have the said capability, unless HTC removes it. Affected HTC phones include the Verizon Droid Incredible, the T-Mobile G2, the Sprint Evo 4G and the AT&T Aria. However, HTC said in a statement that it will completely remove the said capability from all its phones soon, and that the patent is just a minor user interface ability. In other words, this is not much of a deal-breaker for HTC.

Moreover, the ITC ruling does not prevent Apple Inc. from going after other Android phone makers. The aim of patent law is to allow companies to innovate their products and ideas without them getting stolen by competitors. And so in the end, Android users will have to bear the brunt.