The fate of HTC phones in the U.S. Postponed

TAIPEI - The decision on Apple's lawsuit against HTC in the United States (U.S.) has been postponed, a decision that will determine the fate of the Taiwanese mobile phone vendor in the U.S. market.

Reported by the Guardian, Thursday (15/12/2011), an official HTC said, the International Trade Commission will give its decision on 19 December.

HTC as the fourth largest smartphone maker in the world in volume, said on Wednesday that a U.S. court has postponed a final decision on Apple's lawsuit. Apple wanted a ban on sales of HTC devices in the U.S. market, and most likely also on all Android devices.

The decision was very important for HTC, which has been struggling with legal battles and intense competition with Apple and Samsung. HTC has a large enough income in the U.S. market, which accounted for 50 percent of company revenue.

"It's hard to say, whether the decision was good or bad because we do not know the real reason of it all," said Yuanta Securities analyst Bonnie Chang.

"We hope the decision will come as soon as possible, so that we can predict whether there will be a settlement. So then we can have a better view of the fundamental medatang HTC in the year."

Assistant professor of law at the University of Houston Law Center, Sapna Kumar, who is also a former patent litigator and close to the ITC, said, "I think, chances are they will affirm the decision (Apple patents have been violated)."

Meanwhile, Google also has been trying to help struggle HTC, by setting a number of patents in September that will be used to sue Apple HTC separately.