HTC Vows To Fight Apple In Appeal Courts Over ITC Spanking

HTC has vowed to fight Apple in the courts, after the ITC ruled late last week that the company had infringed on two patents with its Android handsets. "Now the course of action is to appeal," HTC CFO Winston Yung said, going on to suggest that "we believe we have a very strong case, the attorney agrees with us, and therefore we will appeal" the WSJ reports. HTC has highlighted the findings of an independent staff attorney at the ITC, whose opinion differed from the official preliminary ruling.

Previously, the company has taken a combative approach, recently calling out Apple for trying to compete in the courts rather than on the strength of its products. Meanwhile HTC's general counsel, Grace Lei, put out a statement in the aftermath of this recent ITC ruling suggesting that the company was prepared for a fight:

"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. 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." Grace Lei, General Counsel, HTC

Nonetheless, despite the "alternate solutions" Lei mentions, HTC appears willing to consider negotiating with its rival. "If the parties want to talk, we can talk anytime" Yung suggested, "I think in cases like this, you should keep in touch." However, he shot down suggestions of further licensing; HTC is believed to pay Microsoft a considerable amount for use of its patented technologies in Android devices, amounting to more than Microsoft actually makes from its own Windows Phone platform.

However, the bold talk hasn't been much help to HTC's share price, which has tumbled since the ITC ruling was made public. The company will use the lowered prices to buy back shares and, it hopes, instill a new sense of confidence in investors.