Phone maker HTC hit back Wednesday in its ongoing patent dispute with Apple, asking the U.S. International Trade Commission to block the importation into the country of iPads, iPhones, and iPods from Apple's offshore manufacturing facilities.
HTC phones run operating systems from Google and Microsoft that compete with Apple's devices.
"As the innovator of the original Windows Mobile PocketPC Phone Edition in 2002 and the first Android smartphone in 2008, HTC believes the industry should be driven by healthy competition and innovation that offers consumers the best, most accessible mobile experiences possible," said HTC North American vice president Jason Mackenzie, in a statement.
"We are taking this action against Apple to protect our intellectual property, our industry partners, and most importantly our customers that use HTC phones," said Mackenzie.
HTC did not provide details about which patents it believes are being infringed. The action may be in retaliation for similar complaints that Apple filed against HTC in March.
Apple asked the ITC to block the importation of HTC's Google Android-based mobile phones, including the Google-branded Nexus One, and HTC's Windows Mobile phones. Apple also sued HTC for alleged patent violations in the U.S. District Court for Delaware.
Apple asked the court for "a permanent exclusion order" that would bar from entry "all mobile communications devices and components" made by HTC, according to court documents.
In the ITC filing, Apple says 11 HTC phones violate its patents, including the Nexus One, Touch Pro, Touch Diamond, Pure, Imagio, and myTouch 3G.
The cases remain ongoing.
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