Taiwan-based HTC Corp., now the world''s fifth-largest maker of smart phones, said yesterday that it would appeal an initial ruling made by the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) that it has infringed two of 10 patents held by U.S. giant Apple Inc. concerning portable electronic devices.
 
HTC made the remarks in a statement issued yesterday after receiving a notice of the ITC judge's initial ruling on the lawsuit, which was filed in March 2010 by Apple accusing the Taiwanese firm of violating 10 patents related to the iPhone.

But HTC also noted that it does not yet have access to the judge's full opinion and analysis to determine the details of his judgment.
A preliminary finding on Friday reportedly said that HTC had violated two of the patents. HTC maintains none of the ten were infringed.

Grace Lei, general counsel of HTC, said in the statement that HTC is highly confident that it has a strong case for the ITC appeals process and is fully prepared to defend the company's interests by using all means possible.