Apple files yet another patent complaint against HTC

Apple is again asking the U.S. International Trade Commission to crack down on HTC over patent violations.

Filing its third ITC complaint against HTC in the past three years, Apple says the company is still in violation of the same patents that led to a recent import ban of the HTC One X and Evo 4G LTE, says Foss Patents' Florian Mueller.

In response to the ban, HTC said that it worked around Apple's U.S. Patent No. 5,946,647. As a result, the ban was lifted, allowing the two HTC smartphones to pass through U.S. Customs.

But Apple says no, aruging that HTC continues to infringe on the patent in question. As such, Apple wants the ITC to act immediately to clamp down on any further infringements. In its complaint, though, Apple is citing a lot more phones than just the HTC One X and Evo 4G LTE.

The 29 HTC smartphones considered by Apple to be in violation of the patent include: the HTC One X, the HTC One S, the HTC One V, the HTC Inspire 4G, the HTC Vivid, the HTC Status, the HTC Sensation, the HTC Sensation 4G, the HTC Wildfire, the HTC Wildfire S, the HTC Hero, the HTC Hero S, the HTC EVO 4G LTE, the HTC Evo 4G, the HTC Evo V 4G, the HTC Evo Design 4G, the HTC Evo 3D, the HTC Amaze 4G, the HTC Droid Incredible 4G LTE, the HTC myTouch 4G, the HTC myTouch 4G Slide, the HTC Merge, the HTC Rezound, the HTC Rhyme, the HTC ThunderBolt, the HTC Flyer, the HTC Jetstream, the HTC EVO View 4G, and the Droid Incredible 2.

After initially ruling on the matter last December, the ITC granted HTC four months to change its devices to work past Apple's patent, according to Mueller.

But Apple believes HTC's "workarounds" continue to violate the so-called "data tapping" patent.

Now it will be up to the ITC to make the final decision. But the data tapping patent will also figure into the trial between Apple and Motorola scheduled to take place in Chicago this month.