How the tables have turned.. Taiwanese mobile co. HTC’s UK division has decided to meet Apple in court over a patent infringement claim, but the funny thing is this, for once, is not by Apple’s invitation. This time someone else is suing them!
After being sued itself over patent rows with Apple, HTC will not go quietly and are now suing Apple over infringement on gadgets developed by the firm S3 – a company which HTC are currently in the process of buying out.
Making a stand, the Brit branch has risen up to the schoolyard bully and made the legal appeal against the Californian tech-tatorship, which is currently on a worldwide patent and trademark crusade.
In the last week alone Apple has already essentially crippled Amazon’s Appstore in Germany by having the courts deny any new mobile software to be submitted, this over the “unlawful” use of a variation of the term “App Store”. Apple has also attempted to harm Samsung’s promotion and sales of it’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 slate in Australia (to which Samsung has since issued a defiant statement addressing the ban).
Interestingly it would seem that a few small acts of defiance have brought others out of the trenches. Google are now offering to bail out HTC (the manufacturer of many Android-based handsets) if its assault on Apple should fail and they end up paying royalty damages on their side.
Is an alliance being formed against Apple? Somebody cue the Twisted Sister – We’re Not Gonna Take It!
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