Nokia reignites patent dispute with HTC

TAIPEI, Taiwan -- After filing its latest complaints with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) and a federal court in the state of Delaware, Nokia said Friday it has filed two new complaints in San Diego district court against HTC and accused the company of infringing on nine of its patents.

In its district court filing, Nokia alleged patent violations on features relating to near-field communications. Some of HTC's products, including its One series of smartphones, are using the patents in question, Nokia said.

“Despite the German courts confirming infringements of Nokia patents on HTC products, HTC has shown no intention to end its practices. Instead it has tried to shift responsibility to its suppliers. We have therefore taken these further steps to hold HTC accountable for its actions,” Nokia said in a statement.

HTC won a lawsuit initiated by Nokia in Germany in late April, which was on a patent related to how its phone accesses the Internet, while the Taiwan's top smartphone vendor lost a few other cases to Nokia earlier this year.

“Upon receiving the official documents, HTC is to consider all legal options to protect our rights,” HTC said in a statement sent to news media worldwide by email.

Last year, shipments of HTC's One X smartphone were delayed for around a month because it lost a patent lawsuit to Apple and the U.S. subjected all shipments to further customs review.

The HTC First took yet another critical hit yesterday. The UK carrier EE, the merged company of Orange and T-Mobile, has confirmed with Western media that it won't launch the HTC First in Britain and that preorders won't be fulfilled.

This strike on the HTC First comes shortly after rumors that AT&T will discontinue the Facebook midrange smartphone due to low sales.

In a rash of bad news, HTC executives yesterday claimed the company has shipped 5 million One flagships globally. According to a company statement, HTC became the best-selling mobile phone brand in Taiwan in April, accounting for a 30.6-percent market share.

Thanks to continued brisk sales of its popular 5-inch Butterfly phone and smoother production of the new HTC One, the company managed to outsell its formidable foreign rivals in the home market last month, an HTC executive said.

He cited figures from an authoritative market research firm to prove that HTC had reclaimed the crown as the top handset brand in Taiwan in April.

HTC's closest competitor, Samsung Electronics, was second with a market share of 26.7 percent in April.

Samsung's new flagship model, the Galaxy S4, did not hit local store shelves until late April, which might have been a major factor behind the company's drop to second place, market analysts said.

 

Market survey data also showed that the HTC Butterfly, which comes with the world's first 5-inch full high-definition 1080p screen, remained the best-selling smartphone in Taiwan in April, with a 6.9-percent market share. The model emerged as the top seller for the first time in March.