ITC ruling on HTC vs. Apple patent infringement case postponed

The International Trade Commission (ITC) has further postponed its ruling on a patent fight between Apple and HTC over smartphone technology, an HTC official said.

The ITC, a US trade panel, will reportedly now rule on December 19 whether world's number 4 smartphone maker HTC infringed patents owned by Apple.

The ruling was originally scheduled for December 6.

The HTC official didn't mention any reason for the postponement of the ruling.

The ruling is crucial for HTC, which is already struggling with legal battles and cut-throat competition from Apple and Samsung Electronics. A ruling in Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple's favor could lead to a ban on the sale of HTC smartphones in the US.

Apple's lawsuit against HTC is being seen as a proxy war between Google's Android based devices and Apple's products. It may be noted here that HTC produces a considerable number of Android-based smartphones and tablets.