HTC removes patent in case against Apple

The Apple-Samsung case is now in the courtroom, and things are starting to shape up for next month's HTC versus Apple showdown. The company filed a motion to the International Trade Commission to withdraw a specific patent for a "circuit and operating method for integrated interface of PDA and wireless communication system", which now drops the number of HTC's claims down to two standard-essential patents.

HTC originally started off with three patents in August of 2011, then added five more for good measure in September of 2011. FOSS Patents blogger Florian Mueller notes that Apple filed a countersuit in June over alleged infringement of standard-essential 4G LTE patents, and says that if Apple is successful in any of its FRAND (fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory) counterclaims, HTC's ITC complaint will be an utter failure.

Apple's most recent legal volley at HTC is saying that the company managed to skirt an ITC-issued handset injunction after allegedly making "misstatements" to U.S. Customs officials. Some HTC handsets had been banned from import into the U.S. after a ruling found that HTC had infringed on an Apple "data detectors" patent.