Taiwan's HTC files patent suit against Apple

Taiwan's leading smartphone maker HTC said Thursday it was suing technology giant Apple in the United States, claiming it has infringed on its patents.

HTC said in a statement that the suit was filed in a district court in Florida but declined to elaborate as the case had entered formal litigation proceedings.

According to the Taipei-based Apple Daily newspaper, HTC claimed in the suit that Apple's MacBook Air, MacBook Pro and iPhone have infringed on two patents it acquired from Hewlett-Packard last year related to computer networks.

Such lawsuits are a regular occurrence among technology giants and Apple has accused HTC and other smartphone makers using Google's Android mobile operating system of infringing on its patents.

HTC this month hailed as a victory a British court ruling that it did not infringe on a patent owned by Apple while three other Apple patents were invalid.

Apple and South Korean giant Samsung are also engaged in a slew of patent suits against each other in international courts, with both companies vying for a bigger stake of the smartphone and tablet markets.

(c) 2012 AFP