HTC to appeal US ruling on Apple patents

HTC Corp will appeal a US International Trade Commission ruling that it infringed two patents of Apple Inc in producing Android-based mobile phones.

HTC, Asia’s second-largest maker of smartphones, said it was found to have infringed two of 10 Apple patents originally asserted in the case. Administrative Law Judge Carl Charneski’s finding yesterday is subject to review by the full six-member commission in Washington.

HTC will “vigorously fight these two remaining patents through an appeal before the ITC commissioners who make the final decision,” Grace Lei, general counsel for the Taoyuan, Taiwan-based company, said in an e-mail. HTC will use “all means possible” to defend itself, it said in a separate statement.

Should the commission uphold the finding, the ITC may ban US imports of some HTC phones that run on Google Inc’s Android, the most popular smartphone operating system in the US. The HTC decision may serve as a barometer for other cases Cupertino, California-based Apple has against makers of Android devices, including Samsung Electronics Co and Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc.

“This isn’t the worst-case scenario for HTC, which was found not to violate the other eight patents,” said Michael On, president of Taipei-based Beyond Asset Management Co, who doesn’t own the company’s shares. “They will probably resolve the issue by paying royalties, which will raise costs.” He declined to disclose the size of his assets.