Apple has won a patent-infringement ruling that bans some HTC smartphones from the US starting next year. The US International Trade Commission, in a review of a judge's findings in July, said that HTC is violating one Apple patent related to data-detection technology and issued a limited import exclusion order that takes effect 19 April. HTC said it will completely remove the technology from all of its phones soon. The ITC determined that three other patents in the case weren't infringed. The list of affected products and a full reason for the commission's decision, which is subject to appeal and a presidential review, wasn't immediately made public. Apple's original complaint named HTC's Nexus One, Touch Pro, Diamond, Tilt II, Dream, myTouch, Hero and Droid Eris. Apple's so-called '647 patent covered a feature in which the phone recognizes a telephone number so it can be stored in directories or called without dialing. Administrative Law Judge Carl Charneski in July sided with Apple for two of the four patents it was claiming: the data- detection one and the other covering the transmission of multiple types of data. The commission overturned the judge's findings on that patent, and affirmed his determination that the remaining two patents weren't infringed, which covered ways software programs are written and executed. Apple has a second complaint pending before the commission that claims other HTC smartphones and Flyer tablet computers infringe five patents related to software architecture and user interfaces. HTC has retaliated with two trade commission cases against Apple, one submitted last year and one in August.
