HTC said it was “dismayed” by a new round of legal action initiated by Apple, and that the iPhone maker has “resorted to competition in the courts rather than the market place.” Apple filed a second complaint with the US International Trade Commission last Friday, asserting infringement of five patents – three of which have also been cited in US court actions involving Samsung, according to FOSS Patents.  In a statement, HTC said that it “continues to vehemently deny all of Apple’s past and present claims against it and will continue to protect and defend its own intellectual property as it has already done this year.” The complaint is the second time Apple has called on the ITC to act against HTC, with FOSS Patents mooting that it is concerned about the progress of the first action, and wants “a second try with potentially stronger patents.”

It has previously been reported that the ITC had indicated that its staff was favouring HTC after an investigation, although this does not guarantee a favourable final outcome for the Taiwanese smartphone maker.  The timing is also significant: last week, HTC announced a deal to buy imaging technology company S3 Graphics, which has a notable patent portfolio – including technologies which have also been asserted against Apple. The second action also gives Apple the opportunity to name newer HTC products as infringing its patents, in order to have the greatest possible effect on the vendor’s device portfolio. The current action names a number of HTC’s “4G” devices across various network technologies, and its Flyer tablet.