HTC Co-Founder Cher Wang: “We’re the Same as Apple. We Innovate” [UPDATED]

[Update on July 16th – The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) has issued its initial determination that HTC has infringed two of Apple’s patents, out of an initial claim of 10 by Apple’s lawyers. The final ITC ruling remains months away, however.]

Taiwan’s HTC is facing a potentially costly smartphone showdown with Apple, as the Californian company’s lawsuit claims HTC violated a number of user interface (UI) and gesture copyrights. In response, HTC’s co-founder, Cher Wang, is speaking out and trying to calm investor fears by emphasising her company’s own innovations.

Speaking on Taiwanese TV, Cher Wang said:

I think we and Apple are the same – we both have a lot of patents … I believe the lawsuit against HTC will not have any impact. But we will strive to innovate more, so we can compete even better on the world stage.

HTC (2498:TAI) could well end up paying out to Apple for every one of its own Android-powered phones that it sells – a pricey peace-treaty that HTC has already succumbed to with Microsoft, which has separate copyright claims over various Android UI elements. It has not been made known how much HTC already pays to Microsoft.

Sina’s Tech news portal quotes a Morgan Stanley analyst, Lu Zhi-ying, saying that if HTC were to pay Apple US$4-$5 per Android phone sold, then that would shave only 1-2% off of earnings.

Mrs Wang, however, is defiant of her company’s innovations, as well as desperate to calm investor jitters which have caused HTC shares to slide nearly 20% since last Wednesday. In the same TV interview she added:

I believe this [HTC’s] type of multi-touch technology is a different approach. If we think back to the time of HTC Dopod devices, it was multi-touch – so we have patents for that multi-touch.

[News and image sources: Businessweek HK, and Sina Tech news – both articles in Chinese]