iPhone 5 in trouble? Samsung to sue, HTC wants it banned

iPhone 5 in trouble? Samsung to sue, HTC wants it banned

Update: According to a Korea Times report, Samsung is also going to file a patent complaint against Apple’s new iPhone. The report says,

“It’s true that Samsung Electronics has decided to take immediate legal action against the Cupertino-based Apple. Countries in Europe and even the United States ― Apple’s home-turf ― are our primary targets,”said an industry source.

Apple’s new iPhone is out tomorrow but the Cupertino tech giant’s flagship device could face an import ban if tech company HTC gets its way.

HTC wants the new iPhone and the current 4G LTE iPad banned, because its says Apple infringed an LTE patent owned by HTC. According to The Register, “Apple is subject to an ongoing investigation by the the International Trade Commission (ITC) under Judge Thomas Pender, after Taiwanese company HTC filed a complaint in August 2011.”

ZDNet reports that ”HTC filed this lawsuit against Apple for infringing on two patents it owns for LTE connection methods.  HTC acquired the patents from ADC Telecommunications Inc in April 2011.” 

The new iPhone is likely to come with 4G internet with LTE or Long Term Evolution, which is a standard for wireless communication of high-speed data for mobile phones and data terminals.

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According to this Bloomberg report, ITC judge, Pender has refused to quash HTC’s patents as invalid, stating that “I don’t care if they bought these patents to sue you or not. They are a property right.”

Bloomberg’s report also says, that initially HTC had alleged that Apple violated five of its patents which it acquired from Google. But “Pender threw out that part of the case, saying HTC didn’t have adequate ownership control under the terms of its agreement with Google.