Apple Patent Victory Unlikely to Damage HTC, Android

Apple scored a minor victory in its battle against Google Android, with the International Trade Commission (ITC) banning certain HTC smartphones from import in April 2012. However, observers believe HTC will have little trouble altering its devices in order to sidestep the ban.

The patent in question, considered a minor one by analysts, concerns the ability to dial a phone number in an email or text by tapping on it. “We believe there are workarounds available to HTC, and HTC has noted that it can quickly remove the feature,” Peter Misek, an analyst with research firm Jefferies & Co., wrote in a coauthored note Dec. 20. “A prior ruling that HTC was infringing one of Apple’s broader patents was overturned.”

In other words, Apple hasn’t exactly managed to cripple HTC’s efforts in the United States. “This ruling falls far short of anything that would force HTC out of the U.S. market in the near term,” patent expert Florian Mueller wrote in a Dec. 19 posting on his FOSS Patents blog. “Out of ten patents originally asserted, Apple finally managed to enforce one, and it’s one of medium value.”

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source article: eweek.com
source image: siliconangle.com