HTC and Apple BOTH claim victory: Come again?

[T]he ITC's order may not have much impact on HTC's ability to sell products...the company said it had created alternatives to the patented technology. ... The ITC had found that HTC had violated certain claims of some patents that Apple cited, but not others.
...
Apple originally had accused HTC of infringing 20 patents...alleg[ing] unfair importation practices. ... The set of claims was reduced over time, and in September the ITC's ruling Commission...found that HTC had...infringed claims 1 or 8 of U.S. Patent 5,946,647.   

   
Jacqui Cheng adds:

The ITC's administrative law judge (ALJ) ruled earlier this year that HTC was infringing...two of Apple's patents. The final decision [by] a six-member ITC panel...[says] HTC phones violate Apple's patents related to...a common feature across most modern smartphones.   

Jennifer Van Grove explains "what the heck is this all about":

U.S. Patent No. 5,946,647 [claims] a seemingly simple invention that covers technology most of us probably take for granted: Clickable and actionable phone numbers, addresses and other data.
...
[D]epending on who you talk to...[this] affect[s] the makers of other Android-powered devices, or [merely] force[s] Google to release an Android update.   

Meanwhile, Paul Mozur notes that HTC is celebrating victory:

HTC Corp. said in a statement Tuesday that [the] ruling...was "a win for HTC"...[because the ITC] narrowed an earlier finding that HTC was infringing multiple claims.   

And Florian Müller tends to agree:

Out of ten patents originally asserted, Apple finally managed to enforce one, and it's one of medium value.
...
A much broader...patent on realtime signal processing was not deemed infringed. That one could have had much more impact on HTC and, more generally, Android. ... A knock-out blow is a must-have...when you're embroiled in a race for leverage with a view to settlement negotiations.   

  
And Finally...
Fat Joe is Not So Fat Now
  
 
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Richi Jennings is an independent analyst/consultant, specializing in blogging, email, and security. He's the creator and main author of Computerworld's IT Blogwatch -- for which he has won American Society of Business Publication Editors and Jesse H. Neal awards on behalf of Computerworld. He also writes The Long View for IDG Enterprise. A cross-functional IT geek since 1985, you can follow him as @richi on Twitter, pretend to be richij's friend on Facebook, or just use good old email: itbw@richij.com. You can also read Richi's full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.