Apple rival attempts to stop sale of iPhone

The maker of Google's smartphone is taking legal action against Apple, threatening to stop the sale of its iPhone, iPad and iPods in the US.

Taiwan's HTC, which builds Google's Nexus One iPhone rival, has outlined five patents infringed by the Apple products.

The complaint, lodged yesterday to the United States International Trade Commission, is the latest counter-blow in a slugging match between the technology giants. Earlier this year, Apple filed its own lawsuit against HTC, detailing 20 patent violations.

However, Jason Mackenzie, vice president of HTC Corporation North America, insisted the legal action was not just tit-for-tat.

He said: "We are taking this action against Apple to protect our intellectual property, our industry partners, and most importantly our customers that use HTC phones.

"HTC believes the industry should be driven by healthy competition and innovation that offer consumers the best, most accessible mobile experiences possible."

His words echoed the battle cry issued by Apple boss Steve Jobs after its own lawsuit against HTC in March.

Mr Jobs said: "We can sit by and watch competitors steal our patented inventions, or we can do something about it. We've decided to do something about it."

But mobile phone expert Ernest Doku, from handset comparison site Omio.com, does not believe consumers should worry too much about the courtroom wrangling - the iPhone will still be on sale for the foreseeable future.

He said: "Apple is on the receiving end of quite a few law suits at the moment. Its position as number one with consumers is attracting the attention of rival manufacturers - like Nokia who have also recently filed patent complaints against them.

"Consumers shouldn't worry. They often don't amount to much and are thrashed out in court for years at vast expense."

HTC currently has 12 smartphones on sale in the US market, including its flagship Google Android-powered Desire which is considered by technology magazine T3 as "a phone that can take on the iPhone and win".