In early October, we learned of a injunction case involving Nokia and HTC where Nokia was seeking an import ban against HTC due to patent infringement on multiple of its recent phones, including the HTC One. The case centred around a patent from 1998 held by Nokia and specifies the design of a modulator (for sending data signals). Although the part in question was technically made by Qualcomm, the judge presiding over the case has ruled that HTC should have at least paid licensing fees to Nokia.
In a surprise development in the case, Nokia brought evidence to the table that suggested that a HTC One successor would be released some time in Q1 2014, an assertion that the HTC lawyer did not deny. This information suggests that a successor to the HTC One, called the “HTC One Two” in this court case, would likely see a release around February or March 2014. This is actually interest as this will be slightly earlier in the year than the HTC One’s release in April 2013.
This information actually worked in HTC’s favour in this case as the judge ruled that the HTC One would be allowed to continue selling in the UK, though unfortunately this provision did not apply to the One Max, One Mini and other recent HTC handsets which will have to be withdrawn.
It’s an interesting and perhaps unfortunate way for confidential information to be revealed, though for HTC’s sake, who is now going to struggle in the European market, we hope the HTC One successor will actually be released in Q1 to help mitigate the damage done as a result of this court case.
