A recent development last week involved HTC, a popular cell phone maker, as found guilty by the International Trade Commission of the US for infringement of two of Apple’s patents related to the iPhone.  However, HTC has denied these charges and is appealing for the same.  It has threatened to hit Apple with loads of patents which were gained at the time of acquiring S3 Graphics.  Peter Chou, HTC’s Chief Executive, also stated to BBC that they have sufficient patents to clarify their stand and will definitely win.  He even added that wars to win customers should be fought in the market place instead of in the courts.

On a related aspect, Apple has also aimed at Google which manufactures Android, the operating system being used by HTC in its handsets.  A reputed patent expert, Florian Mueller, believes that Apple’s lawsuit against HTC is actually directed towards the core of Android’s OS functionalities.  For the same reason, he predicts there could be a serious patent issue for entire Android ecosystem.

To add to this, Apple has also targeted Samsung Electronics in issues related to patent infringement.  Samsung, holding roughly 28,700 patents, claims that just in the US, Apple has been found infringing on many of its own patents.

Samsung’s top executive told BBC that more than 50% of iPhone’s components are being manufactured by Samsung.

While we enjoy the benefits of new and innovative SmartPhone technology, we definitely see that the manufacturers are at war over patents.  This competition is only going to make things better for us.