Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC Corp. said yesterday it will continue to expand its patent portfolio despite the latest setback against Apple Inc. in a heated mobile war.
"Apple is a company with 'big muscle' and is famous worldwide,” HTC chairperson Cher Wang told reporters on the sidelines of the HTC 15th anniversary ceremony.
"In the United States particularly, it will be able to stop us by all means. This is our challenge,” she said. “But we are not afraid of challenges because we have innovations.”
"We will apply for patents in different fields, and we will also purchase different kinds of patents, such as those owned by S3 Graphics Co.,” Wang added.
In September of last year, HTC amended its complaints filed on Aug. 16 with the United States International Trade Commission (USITC) and the U.S. District Court of Delaware, as well as an additional case in Delaware, for patent infringement by Apple's iOS devices and Mac computers.
HTC filed the new claim with a number of patents it bought from Google Inc., which originated from Palm Inc., Motorola Inc. and Openwave Systems Inc., and were transferred to Google in 2011.
But the USITC announced earlier this week that HTC does not have the right to sue Apple on the basis of the eight patents it purchased from Google, according to the commission.
An administrative law judge of the trade panel decided to throw out five of the eight patents claims, saying that HTC had failed to acquire all substantial rights to the relevant patents.
The firm also officiated its new headquarters yesterday in Xindian District, New Taipei City. The building follows a green design and highlights the themes of humanity, craftsmanship and simplicity, company officials said.
（Source: CNA）
