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Google Stands Behind HTC in Patent Dispute With Apple

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Apr 12, 2001
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TechCrunch reports that a Google spokesperson issued a statement yesterday indicating that the company will "stand behind" handset manufacturer HTC in its patent dispute with Apple.
"We are not a party to this lawsuit. However, we stand behind our Android operating system and the partners who have helped us to develop it," a Google spokesperson emailed us.
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Apple's lawsuits against HTC have been seen primarily as an attack on Google's Android operating system, for which HTC is the largest handset manufacturer. Throughout the legal filings related to the Apple's lawsuits, the company distinguishes between alleged infringements by HTC's Android-based handsets and its Windows Mobile-based devices, suggesting that the Android operating system itself is a defining characteristic of at least one class of infringing devices.
A little odd that Google would proactively send us a statement for something they're not technically involved in. But, as we're all well aware, this suit is much more about Google's Android operating system than HTC. And it seems that Google is well aware of that too.

As we noted earlier, the clear focus of the suit centers around the HTC devices that are Android-based, including the Nexus One, the Magic/myTouch 3G, the Dream/G1, the Hero, and the Droid Eris. And in fact, with the Nexus One, Google worked closely with HTC to make the device, and is completely in control of selling it.
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Apple's suit filed in U.S. District Court in Delaware seeks an injunction against infringement of Apple's patents by HTC, as well as triple damages and maximum interest as determined by a jury. Meanwhile, Apple's complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission seeks a halt to imports of a number of HTC handsets, a common tactic used by parties in patent disputes to encourage resolution.

Article Link: Google Stands Behind HTC in Patent Dispute With Apple
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2010/03/03/google-stands-behind-htc-in-patent-dispute-with-apple/
Google have to stand behind their partners, otherwise they'd look like cowards. This is no surprise.
 
This will take a long time

Unless Apple can convince the court to issue a restraining order (unlikely) this thing will take years to sort out. The suit *will* force HTC's accountants to set aside a big reserve for a potential judgment, if I'm not mistaken. Plus, they will have to footnote the suit in all their reports from now on.

Any accountants want to chime in?
 
guerro said:
I guess this is one way to thwart the competition.
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How is protecting one's patent thwarting competition? If inventors didn't have limited exclusive rights to their works there would less incentive to innovate. We'd all be riding horse and cooking our fresh kill deer on an open flame and sending messages out via smoke puffs.
 
Chupa Chupa said:
How is protecting one's patent thwarting competition? If inventors didn't have limited exclusive rights to their works there would less incentive to innovate. We'd all be riding horse and cooking our fresh kill deer on an open flame and sending messages out via smoke puffs.
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I think the issue people have is with the hypocrisy. Apple doesn't want to pay for the GSM patent so Nokia sues and they are call patent trolls, etc... Apple sues HTC for competing (quite well I might add) and Apple is praised. So which is it? Either going after people infringing on your patents is bad or it's good. It can't be both.
 
Chupa Chupa said:
How is protecting one's patent thwarting competition? If inventors didn't have limited exclusive rights to their works there would less incentive to innovate. We'd all be riding horse and cooking our fresh kill deer on an open flame and sending messages out via smoke puffs.
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There are only so many ways you can make and configure a cell phone. There are bound to be similarities between phones. In fact, the majority of cell phones are just spin-offs of each other and we don't see widespread lawsuits.

We really don't want one major mobile OS, do we? If it wasn't for competition to dive innovation, then we would be sending out smoke puffs.
 
I think the patent system should be reformed. Most of those IT patents, such as interface solutions, are utter bs and should not allowed.
 
eastcoastsurfer said:
I think the issue people have is with the hypocrisy. Apple doesn't want to pay for the GSM patent so Nokia sues and they are call patent trolls, etc... Apple sues HTC for competing (quite well I might add) and Apple is praised. So which is it? Either going after people infringing on your patents is bad or it's good. It can't be both.
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Two different cases. Let's keep them separate.

What Apple is doing is neither bad nor good. They feel violations have occurred and they're pursuing the matter legally. Neither HTC or Apple or Google is the bad party here. It's a legal issue. This isn't an obvious Psystar case. While I hope Apple comes out of this successfully, I have no idea who to side with in terms of facts, since I don't know the facts of the case, just a list of patents submitted by Apple and an HTC that's denying any wrongdoing.

We can possibly put something together based on circumstance and motivation, but to my knowledge HTC aren't known for the behaviour Apple has accused them of, but then again, Apple is not known for trying to stifle competition through patent suits. Nor would they have any reason to engage in such behaviour.
 
AnalyzeThis said:
I sure hope he got some work to do, ... today.
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I do.


If google truly stands behind HTC, they should sue Apple for a declaratory judgment that Android doesn't infringe Apple's patents.

Off to take a shower and head to work :). (been out sick this week)
 
Microsoft should back HTC as well. Their smartphones are the only reason that windows mobile still alive
 
HTC got the backing from Google to steal Apple intellectual rights

I think this is how the game is played. I also think the Obama administration is in a dilemma. On one hand, the US government is prosecuting many Chinese Americans for stealing US company trade secrets. On the other hand, the US government stands behind Google in its dispute with Chinese government.
 
eastcoastsurfer said:
I think the issue people have is with the hypocrisy. Apple doesn't want to pay for the GSM patent so Nokia sues and they are call patent trolls, etc... Apple sues HTC for competing (quite well I might add) and Apple is praised. So which is it? Either going after people infringing on your patents is bad or it's good. It can't be both.
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FYI information I hate software patents but here you are wrong.

Apple doesn't want to pay the GSM patents because Nokia demands a cross licensing deals for certain technologies which it doesn't ask to other manufactures. Apple wants to pay for the GSM patents but asks to be treated the same way as other manufactures... .
 
tzeshan said:
I think this is how the game is played. I also think the Obama administration is in a dilemma. On one hand, the US government is prosecuting many Chinese Americans for stealing US company trade secrets. On the other hand, the US government stands behind Google in its dispute with Chinese government.
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huh?
 
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