A London court has given a ruling in favour of Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC saying that the company has not infringed on patents held by Apple relating to technology used in its mobile devices.
The case centered around four iPhone patents including Apple’s slide-to-unlock feature, multi-touch software, alphabet-changing software and photo-management software.
In an 81-page ruling, London’s High Court Justice Floyd said that HTC’s devices did not infringe on Apple’s photo management patent that was found to be entirely valid, while three other patents were invalid.
HTC had also challenged Apple’s patent claims on the iPhone’s multi-touch system and another related to the way the iPhone manages photographs.
"HTC is pleased with the ruling, which provides further confirmation that Apple’s claims against HTC are without merit," the company said in a statement. "We remain disappointed that Apple continues to favor competition in the courtroom over competition in the marketplace."
An Apple spokesman said: "We think competition is healthy, but competitors should create their own original technology, not steal ours."
The ruling is significant as HTC and Apple are fighting patent battles in different countries.
It also comes a few days after the US International Trade Commission rejected an emergency request by Apple to ban certain HTC smartphones after infringement cliams by the iPad maker and said it found that Apple had not demonstrated the propriety of temporary emergency action.
In July, HTC appealed against Apple patent ruling and by the year end, the agency investigated the case and ruled HTC had infringed on one Apple patent on its Android smartphones and tablets and the case went in Apple’s favor.
Apple rumored to launch a cheaper and smaller version of its iPad to continue its dominant position in the tablet market, is also fighting patent lawsuits against South Korean rival Samsung.
