Apple sues HTC for iPhone patent infringement

Apple has sued smartphone maker HTC for patent infringement, citing 20 patents related to the iPhone's user interface, architecture, and hardware, a statement from the company said this morning.

A statement from Apple CEO Steve Jobs today said, "We can sit by and watch competitors steal our patented inventions, or we can do something about it. We've decided to do something about it. We think competition is healthy, but competitors should create their own original technology, not steal ours."

The lawsuit was filed both with the US International Trade Commission and in US District Court in Delaware, where Nokia has been battling Apple on similar grounds.

Apple Patents included in the suit:

• "Time-Based, Non-Constant Translation Of User Interface Objects Between States"
• "Touch Screen Device, Method, And Graphical User Interface For Determining Commands By Applying Heuristics"
• "Unlocking A Device By Performing Gestures On An Unlock Image," (this is the newest patent involved, granted on February 2, 2010)
• "List Scrolling And Document Translation, Scaling, And Rotation On A Touch-Screen Display"
• "System And Method For Managing Power Conditions Within A Digital Camera Device"
• "Automated Response To And Sensing Of User Activity In Portable Devices"
• "GMSK Signal Processors For Improved Communications Capacity And Quality"
• "Conserving Power By Reducing Voltage Supplied To An Instruction-Processing Portion Of A Processor"
• "Object-Oriented Graphic System"
• "Object-Oriented Event Notification System With Listener Registration Of Both Interests And Methods."