Mutually-assured patent destruction continues with HTC-Apple complaint

Another day, another legal action over mobile patents.

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HTC, the Taiwanese mobile handset manufacturer and maker of Google’s Nexus One phone, filed a complaint with the International Trade Commission today to cease U.S. sales of the iPhone, iPad and iPod after saying the company infringed on its intellectual property.

“As the innovator of the original Windows Mobile PocketPC Phone Edition in 2002 and the first Android smartphone in 2008, HTC believes the industry should be driven by healthy competition and innovation that offer consumers the best, most accessible mobile experiences possible,” said the company’s North American vice president, Jason Mackenzie. “We are taking this action against Apple to protect our intellectual property, our industry partners, and most importantly our customers that use HTC phones.”

The move comes just days after Finnish handset maker Nokia filed suit against Apple in a Wisconsin court over five patents it held. HTC also has added legal firepower now after Microsoft Corp. gave the Taiwanese device manufacturer legal coverage under its patent portfolio in exchange for royalties. As a relatively young company in the space (it was founded in 1997), HTC has far fewer patents than its particularly litigious competitor, Apple.

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