HTC Corp, the world's No.4 smartphone maker, said on Wednesday that a U.S. court has further postponed a final ruling on its lawsuit against Apple Inc.

An HTC official said the International Trade Commission, a U.S. trade panel that investigates patent infringement involving imported goods, would deliver its ruling on December 19.

He added that a reason for the delay was not available.

The International Trade Commission had earlier scheduled a ruling for Wednesday, postponed from the original date of December 6.

The ruling is crucial for HTC, which has struggled with legal battles and stiff competition with Apple and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, since it could result in a ban on the sale of HTC handsets in the United States.

The suit is seen by some as a proxy for the larger fight for market share between Google Inc's Android cellphones and tablets, many of which HTC manufactures, and Apple's product line.

Samsung, which also makes Android products, is locked in similar court fights with Apple.

At around 0309 GMT, shares of HTC were up 1.3 percent, beating a flat main index.

(Reporting by Argin Chang; Writing by Faith Hung; Editing by Chris Lewis)

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