Starting April 19, 2012 HTC will no longer be allowed to import phones that, as a result of yesterday's court ruling, infringe on Apple's patents for "data tapping" (when your phone turns text addresses, emails, and phone numbers into links). But thankfully, the patent only applies to the specific method to accomplish this, not the idea itself, so they've already got their workaround in place and shouldn't lose any speed as a result of Apple's love of litigation. HTC explains with this statement:

We are gratified that the Commission affirmed the judge's initial determination on the ‘721 and ‘983 patents, and reversed its decision on the ‘263 patent and partially on the ‘647 patent. We are very pleased with the determination and we respect it. However, the ‘647 patent is a small UI experience and HTC will completely remove it from all of our phones soon.

So what exactly does this mean for U.S. users? Well, nothing really. The ITC banned all devices that use this method, and since HTC has found a different method, nothing changes for American HTC users.

What do you think about this? Is Apple going overboard with the patent litigation? Should something be done about it? Drop a comment below!

Source Android Police