HTC today brought infringement counterclaims against Apple in the Southern District of Florida over two patents it acquired from HP last December, reports "FOSS Patents" (http://macte.ch/OHzjP).

"The litigation in which the Taiwanese device maker is asserting those two patents is a case that started in 2010 with a Motorola lawsuit against Apple, which later became consolidated with another action in the same district," Florian Mueller writes for "FOSS Patents. "Six of Apple's twelve infringement counterclaims in that consolidated action target not only Motorola Mobility but also HTC. HTC wants the case moved out of Miami, but its motion to transfer is still pending. In the meantime, HTC had to respond to Apple's counterclaims. In addition to the usual deny-everything-and-throw-in-the-kitchen-sink defenses, HTC also decided to hit back."

This is all part of an ongoing legal battle. In November 2010 Apple sued Motorola, alleging that the company's smartphone lineup and the operating software it uses infringe on the iPhone-maker's intellectual property. The two lawsuits came after Motorola sued Apple in October 2010 for patent infringement. Motorola claims that Apple's iPhone, iPad, iPod touch and certain Mac computers infringe Motorola patents.

Also in 2010 Apple filed a lawsuit against HTC for infringing on 20 Apple patents related to the iPhone's user interface, underlying architecture and hardware. The lawsuit was filed concurrently with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) and in U.S. District Court in Delaware.