Apple, HTC and RIM slapped with patent claims

St Clair Intellectual Property Consultants accuses manufacturers of theft

Patent holding company St Clair Intellectual Property Consultants is suing Apple, HTC and RIM for alleged infringement of six US patents for computer function management.

A report on Bloomberg said that the firm's lawyers have stated that the smartphone manufacturers were aware of the thefts when designing their products.

Apple, HTC and RIM "acted objectively and were subjectively reckless" in implementing technology which they "should have reasonably known would infringe " on St Clair-owned patents, the lawyers said.

The company has asked for a jury trial and unspecified damages.

HTC had not responded to requests for comment from V3.co.uk at the time of publication, while RIM and Apple declined to comment.

The case is yet another example of the increasingly litigious nature of the mobile phone market.

Apple and Nokia are currently involved in a long-running patent dispute, while Microsoft is suing Motorola over alleged infringements of patents relating to the Android interface.

Motorola has also been in dispute with RIM, but the companies recently announced an end to worldwide litigation.