Apple has filed suit against HTC — maker of the Nexus One (a.k.a the “Google phone”) – for infringing on 20 patents “related to the iPhone’s user interface, underlying architecture and hardware.”
According to documents filed with the U.S. International Trade Commission and in U.S. District Court in Delaware on Tuesday (see below), Apple is accusing HTC stealing its iPhone technology to develop the Nexus One.
"We can sit by and watch competitors steal our patented inventions, or we can do something about it,” Apple CEO Steve Jobs said in a statement. “We’ve decided to do something about it.”
He added: "We think competition is healthy, but competitors should create their own original technology, not steal ours."
HTC responded with this statement: “HTC values patent rights and their enforcement but is also committed to defending its own technology innovations.” The company declined to comment further, saying it had yet to fully review the suit.
Google is not mentioned in the lawsuit’s documents, but Android is.
Apple debuted its iPhone in 2007. More than 40 million have been sold worldwide, the company said, and more than 200 patents related to the phone have been filed.
Here (via All Things Digital) are the documents Apple filed today:
