HTC is the Latest Casualty in the Apple-Google War

The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) ruled in favor of Apple in a legal battle between it and fellow smartphone manufacturer, HTC.

Apple, which filed the complaint in March of 2010, alleged HTC used several of its patents with some of its phones. The ITC ruled two of the 10 patents allegedly infringed by HTC were in fact legitimate complaints by Apple. HTC says it plans on appealing the decision.

We are highly confident we have a strong case for the ITC appeals process and are fully prepared to defend ourselves using all means possible, Grace Lei, General Counsel of HTC, said in a statement. We strongly believe we have alternate solutions in place for the issues raised by Apple. We look forward to resolving this case, so we can continue creating the most innovative mobile experiences for consumers.

According to AllThingsD, the two patents are a system and method for performing an action on a structure in a computer and a real-time signal processing system for serially transmitted data.

HTC said the ITC's staff attorney independently studied the facts and didn't think there were any infringements. Also, the company said Apple is infringing on its own patents.

While this particular tussle is between Apple and HTC, the real battle is probably between Google and Apple. Over the past few years, Apple has gone after several manufacturers that use Google's Android system. In recent months, it has waged legal battles with Samsung as well. While those complaints are hardware, it seems Apple has gone after the major Google Android players.

Apple's disdain for Google's Android operating system is not exactly a secret. In the past year, Apple chief executive Steve Jobs said he thought Google's description that its operating system was open and Apple's was closed as a dishonest description.

Foss Patents, a blog on patent law, said the actual Apple complaints have to do with Android's operating system rather than the phone's physical makeup. The blog says this could have an impact on all U.S. based Android phones in the future.

Other companies have gone after Google for its Android operating system as well. Microsoft has allegedly asked Android handset makers to license its technology while Oracle complained Android infringed on its Java patents and copyrights in the operating system.