I confess that I am already a little lost with so many disputes in so many courts. Today's news that, according to Reuters, an ITC administrative judge said Apple did not infringe on HTC's patents, the agency's final decision is expected to come out in February 2012.
This is just one of several disputes by companies in different courts around the world. HTC's four patents, in this case, do not include another complaint that uses patents acquired from Google.
“This is just one step out of many in these lawsuits. We are confident that we have a strong case for the appeals process and are fully prepared to protect our intellectual property, ”said HTC's general legal counsel.
This lawsuit is nothing more than a response to another one opened by Apple, in which Ma claims that the Taiwanese infringes several technologies used in the iPhone. With that response, HTC plans to ban imports of iPhones, iPods and iPads. However, according to Florian Mueller, a patent specialist, action does not pose a threat to Apple. Mueller would even have said that he "did not take the process seriously."
I really hope that the reform of the patent system will come out as soon as possible. A lot, a lot of money is at stake, but for what? By reforming the system, that same amount can be used for much more productive purposes.
(via CNET News)
