HTC Android handset sales banned in US

Apple wins patent case, but HTC has until April to fix infringement

Apple has won a legal case which, in theory, bans the sale of some HTC Android phones in the United States from April 2012.

According to the International Trade Commission's findings, the Taiwanese smartphone titan has infringed upon an Apple patent.

The patent in question, US594667, relates to how the phone deals with an email or phone number. The method of clicking on the number/address to bring up the dialer or a new email belongs to Apple.

HTC now has until April 19 2012 to rectify the issue or handsets like the Evo 4G, and Droid Incredible will be banned from sale.

'Small UI experience'

In its original suit, dated March 2010, Apple had alleged that HTC had infringed on ten of its patents.

HTC has welcomed the decision to throw out Apple's other claims and says it already has a solution in the works for the offending patent, so the threat of a ban is unlikely to become a reality.

The company told Gizmodo: "We are very pleased with the determination and we respect it. However, the '647 patent is a small UI experience and HTC will completely remove it from all of our phones soon."