HTC has withdrawn a patent from its International Trade Commission (ITC) complaint against Apple, reducing the amount of asserted claims from eight to two standard-essential patents, reports “FOSS Patents” (http://www.fosspatents.com).
The withdrawn patent is for a “circuit and operating method for integrated interface of PDA and wireless communication system.” The case will go to trial in about a month.
This is all part of an ongoing legal battle. In November 2010 Apple sued Motorola, alleging that the company’s smartphone lineup and the operating software it uses infringe on the iPhone-maker’s intellectual property. The two lawsuits came after Motorola sued Apple in October 2010 for patent infringement. Motorola claims that Apple’s iPhone, iPad, iPod touch and certain Mac computers infringe Motorola patents.
Also in 2010 Apple filed a lawsuit against HTC for infringing on 20 Apple patents related to the iPhone’s user interface, underlying architecture and hardware. The lawsuit was filed concurrently with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) and in U.S. District Court in Delaware.
