This is the season to sue. The hottest item is Apple’s lawsuit against cell phone maker HTC (on the heels of a countersuit against cell phone giant Nokia). Apple CEO Steve Jobs:
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.
It should be noted that HTC is the largest handset maker for Windows Mobile phones, and has made a large commitment to produce Google Android phones. John Maczkowski has a list of the complete court filings in AllThingsDigital.
Named as exhibits in the litigation, a handful of Android devices including Google’s (GOOG) Nexus One, the T-Mobile G1, the HTC Hero and the Droid Eris.
Jason Mick in DailyTech:
Apple also has a pending countersuit against Nokia for similar cell phone patent infringement. In that suit, filed in December, Apple accuses Nokia of stealing technology covered by 13 iPhone-related patents.
Besides HTC, who is the lawsuit actually aimed at? Microsoft? Or, Google? Why not attack Google head on? Mick’s summary:
Is Apple a dreamy inventor turned innocent victim, exploited by greedy handset makers like it suggests? That’s open to debate. But it’s clear that Apple is eager to use litigation as a tool to try to knock down obstacles to its iPhone’s dominance.
It isn’t clear that the iPhone is in a dominant position in anything except mindshare, but it is clear that Apple will go to significant effort to protect the profitable device’s future.
I think Apple is aiming at Google, not Microsoft. Windows Mobile is dead in the water. Windows Phone Series 7 won’t be a marketing reality until 2011, when Apple’s iPhone is well into version 4.0. The real target here is Google’s Android.
Colin Gibbs in GigaOm:
Today’s filing appears to be an attempt to slow Android, which has gained remarkable momentum in recent months. HTC offers the widest array of Android handsets of any manufacturer… and its Nexus One is the latest handset to be dubbed a potential “iPhone killer.” Throwing a legal hurdle at Android’s most prolific manufacturer appears to be an effort to slow Google’s roll in mobile.
Amen. If Apple can stop HTC’s Android from moving forward, what happens to other smart phone manufacturers who plan devices on Google’s fledgling but growing platform?