Apple Alleges HTC Infringed 20 iPhone Patents but Takes a Hit at Google?

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After the conflict with Nokia which led to multiple lawsuits for alleged patent infringements, Apple is now ready to take on HTC, also an important player in the mobile business. HTC is particularly good at making smartphones and it is getting closer and closer to finding the right combo that would neutralize the effect the iPhone has on people.

Not only is HTC working with one of the hottest platforms in town, Google’s Android OS, but in the very near future it will also start making Windows Phone 7 devices. Eventually one of these Android or WinMo smartphones will become as good as we want it to be and as popular as the iPhone.

But Apple has a problem with HTC as Cupertino alleges that HTC has infringed no less than 20 iPhone patents. Consequently the company has filed a suit against HTC with the U.S. International Trade Commission and in a U.S. District Court in Delaware.

Steve Jobs himself had this to say about the whole matter:

We can sit by and watch competitors steal our patented inventions, or we can do something about it. We’ve decided to do something about it. We think competition is healthy, but competitors should create their own original technology, not steal ours.

The question that we ultimately have to ask is whether Apple feels threatened in any way, not by HTC, but by Android? Sure Windows Phone 7 is also very hot but HTC has impressed the audience primarily with Android devices, one of them being, of course the Google Nexus One aka Google’s very first smartphone.

We will be keeping tabs on this trial as it will be interesting to see who will eventually win. And let’s not forget about the Apple vs Nokia conflict which is also waiting for a resolution! Do you have any favorites already?