On Monday the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) found that HTC and Nokia did not infringe upon Apple patents dealing with various elements of the iPhone, Bloomberg reports.
The ITC's recommendation isn't binding, however. Administrative Law Judge Carl Charneski is scheduled to release his decision on August 5, which is still subject to review by a higher committee.
In the ITC trial heard on Monday, Apple claimed HTC infringed upon five patents related to the "seamless integration of hardware and software". Nokia was accused of infringing on one patent, also relating to the syncing of hardware to software.
Apple's patent wars go far back. In March 2010, Apple sued HTC for 20 instances of patent infringement, all dealing with various elements of the iPhone. "We can sit by and watch competitors steal our patented inventions, or we can do something about it," Steve Jobs, Apple's chief executive, said at the time. "We've decided to do something about it. We think competition is healthy, but competitors should create their own original technology, not steal ours." HTC later said that it disagreed with Apple and intended to "fully defend itself.
A Nokia lawyer, Pat Flinn of Alston & Bird in Atlanta, told Bloomberg that Apple decided to "dredge up patents" after Nokia sued Apple in 2009 for patent infringement, which led to Apple countersuing in December 2009. Last month, Nokia expanded its IP lawsuit against Apple.
Last week Samsung entered the tangled web of smartphone patent lawsuits when Apple sued the South Korean manufacturer for copying the look and feel of its iPad and iPhone, in everything from Samsung's packaging to its apps. The ITC has also said it has pending hearings from Apple's lawsuits against Nokia and HTC, Nokia's lawsuit against Apple, Microsoft's lawsuit against Motorola, and Motorola's lawsuit against Apple.
According to Mobiledia, mobile manufacturers often pay royalties on up to 300 patents for a single smartphone, adding 15 to 20 percent of the selling price.
For more, see "Apple's Patently Absurd HTC Suit" and "Apple's Sloppy, Fearful Samsung Lawsuit."