HTC Scores Win in Litigation with Apple

A UK judge has cleared HTC phones of infringing on Apple patents, marking “a considerable defeat for Apple in the smartphone patent wars,” according to Peter Bell, an attorney at Stevens & Bolton LLP.

“Two of Apple’s prize patents have been knocked out in the U.K,” said Bell, who isn’t involved with the spat.

Without commenting specifically on today’s decision, Apple said in a statement provided to Bloomberg that “Competition is healthy, but competitors should create their own original technology, not steal ours.”

HTC, for its part, is happy with today’s ruling, but remains “disappointed that Apple continues to favor competition in the courtroom over competition in the marketplace,” according to Andrea Sommer, a spokeswoman for the Taiwanese handset maker.