HTC Patents Challenged by Apple Probably Valid, Judge Say

Apple Inc. may face a difficult task invalidating two HTC Corp. patents for data transmission in wireless devices, a U.S. trade judge said at a trial that could lead to import bans on the newest iPad and next version of the iPhone.

“Clear and convincing means something to me,” U.S. International Trade Commission Judge Thomas Pender said yesterday in Washington, referring to the legal standard in determining that a patent shouldn’t have been issued. “I have to be pretty darn certain a U.S. patent is invalid.”