Summary: The International Trade Commission (ITC) is looking at HTC's complaint and the Motorola-RIM patent fight is settled amidst ITC involvement

Apple is having a hard time with the FTC (for potential antitrust/anti-competitive abuses) and ITC too. It's part of the mobile patent wars and earlier this month we explained why Apple is the 'bad guy' in that regard. Despite being the company which admits "stealing" other people's ideas, Apple has to nerve to bully other companies, alleging that they -- not Apple -- are "stealing". Several months ago we saw Apple suing Android/Linux without any prior provocation. Apple targeted HTC, one of the largest distributors of Linux (in the form of Android). In response to this (defensive action because Apple did the same thing first), HTC filed complaint with the ITC and it goes forward according to the latest news:

A U.S. trade panel will investigate allegations made by HTC Corp that Apple infringes its technology, as HTC seeks to win a ban on the U.S. sale of iPhones, iPads and iPods.

More coverage in:

• US trade body to look into HTC complaint against Apple
• U.S. ITC to investigate HTC complaint against Apple
• ITC agrees to investigate Apple in HTC complaint, could ban imports of iPhone 4
• ITC examining HTC's patent claim against Apple
• Trade panel to hear patent complaint against Apple
• ITC to Investigate Apple After HTC Complaint

In other news, "Motorola and Research In Motion settle [their] dispute" (in which the ITC was involved).

Handset makers Motorola Inc. and Research In Motion Ltd. said Friday they have settled a patent complaint over mobile technology that Motorola brought to the U.S. International Trade Commission earlier this year.

More coverage of this can be found in:

• Motorola, RIM Settle Patent Fight Over Mobile Phones
• Motorola, RIM Settle Lawsuits
• Motorola, RIM settle patent dispute

The ideal solution is to ban software patents, not to use the ITC to ban a competitor's product. ⬆