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Apple may have spent $100 million in its legal assault against HTC over what it believes is ripped-off technology used in Android mobile devices.

That's according to Dan Lyons, who posted on his blog today about the rumored $100 million price tag for legal expenses for Apple's first set of claims against the company.

A representative for Apple wasn't immediately available to comment to CNET on the figure.

If true, that represents a significant cost--even for a company as cash-rich as Apple--for little gain. After more than a year of legal wrangling, the U.S. International Trade … Read more

Nope, these patent lawsuits aren't slowing down anytime soon.

The latest comes from Apple, which filed a lawsuit this week against Samsung Electronics in Germany. Apple is seeking to ban the sale of Samsung smartphones in the country, according to a report by Bloomberg.

The lawsuit is part of a broader legal war between Apple and Android partners, with Samsung being a particularly fierce opponent. The companies have multiple lawsuits filed against each other in numerous countries and courtrooms around the world.

A spokesman for Samsung wasn't available to comment to CNET on the newest lawsuit.

The lawsuit … Read more

The U.S. International Trade Commission ruled that Motorola's Droid smartphones do not violate three Apple patents, dealing a blow to Apple's legal offensive against the Android smartphone ecosystem.

The ruling is preliminary and needs to be approved by the ITC's full six-member commission. An Apple spokeswoman declined to comment. In a press release, general counsel Scott Offer declared Motorola "pleased" with the ITC's decision.

Apple originally lodged its ITC complaint against Motorola in October 2010, alongside two lawsuits. In its complaints, Apple alleges that Motorola's Droid, Droid 2, Droid X, and a … Read more

Welcome back to Apple Talk Weekly. We're back from hiatus with a weekly dose of the top Apple news and rumors.

Despite the holiday season being in full bore, it's been a busy week for Apple, starting with a win against HTC in its complaint to the International Trade Commission. That was followed shortly thereafter by the apparently successful purchase of an Israeli memory chipmaker, and another legal volley against Samsung in an Australian court.

There were, of course, other goings-on, like some changes to the iTunes store, talk of "prototype" Apple retail stores, and a … Read more

HTC has reportedly already engineered a workaround to sidestep a U.S. agency ruling that HTC infringed on one of Apple's patents.

The move became necessary after the International Trade Commission, a federal agency with the power to enforce bans on products shipping to the U.S., ruled yesterday that HTC infringed on Apple's patent for data detection. The process allows a mobile device to recognize things like e-mail addresses, phone numbers, and addresses in text and automatically move them to a calendar, dialer, or mapping application.

HTC Chief Executive Officer Peter Chou dismissed the feature, saying during … Read more

Apple scored a legal victory yesterday over HTC, albeit a limited one.

The International Trade Commission, a federal agency with the power to enforce bans on products shipping to the U.S., ruled that HTC infringed upon one of Apple's patents. While clearly a win for the company, it could have gone a lot better; Apple originally accused HTC of violating 10 patents.

In a statement to CNET, HTC general counsel Grace Lei said: "We are gratified that the commission affirmed the judge's initial determination on the '721 and '983 patents, and reversed its decision on the '… Read more

HTC will be forced to wait a bit longer to hear what the U.S. International Trade Commission has to say about its case with Apple.

The handset maker said Wednesday that the ITC has delayed handing down its ruling until Monday. Today's court date was set after the ITC delayed a December 6 ruling. The Wall Street Journal was first to report on the delay.

Apple first filed suit against HTC in March 2010, alleging the company copied technologies found in the iPhone. HTC quickly followed that up with its own lawsuit, claiming Apple violates its own patents.… Read more

The long-standing legal battle between Apple and HTC could make some real headway with the U.S. International Trade Commission set to issue a key ruling next week that could potentially ban HTC products from coming to the U.S.

For more than a year, the two companies have been tussling over the illegal use of each other's technology. The battle represents a microcosm of Apple's larger complaint against Google's Android operating system. As such, the ITC ruling could have serious ramifications on all of Google's Android partners, many of which are engaged with Apple in … Read more

HTC is feeling a little buyer's remorse.

The Taiwanese smartphone manufacturer said today that it would reconsider its planned acquisition of S3 Graphics, according to Bloomberg.

The value of S3 is debatable after the U.S. International Trade Commission ruled Apple did not violate its patents and terminated the investigation, dealing HTC a critical blow. HTC had intended for S3's patents to provide it with some legal cover in its ongoing court battle with Apple over intellectual property related to features found in touchscreen smartphones.

"We view this as a negative sign for HTC, which will now … Read more