Nokia wins court injunction against HTC

Nokia filed claims over parts in HTC handset which it says used its HAAC technology.

14:31 23 April 2013

An Amsterdam district court banned HTC from using microphone parts made by STMicroelectronics in its flagship HTC One phones following a claim by Nokia that it invented the parts.

According to reports, Nokia’s engineers tore down HTC One and found that some parts, which were made exclusively for Nokia phones, were used in the HTC One.

A spokesman for Nokia said in a statement. "In its marketing materials, HTC claims that its HDR microphone is a key feature for the HTC One. But it is Nokia HAAC technology, developed exclusively for use in Nokia products."

This latest development can pose another serious blow to HTC, which had already had to delay the launch of its HTC One flagship phone in some countries due to camera-related problems.

Meanwhile, STMicro will have to pay Nokia €50,000 (£43,000) for each microphone sold to others up to maximum of €1million.

In a statement, HTC said: "HTC is disappointed in the decision. We are consulting with STM and will decide whether it is necessary to explore alternative solutions in due course. In the meanwhile, we do not expect this decision to have any immediate impact on our handset sales."