苹果专利案“可能影响到所有android手机用户”

Apple's legal action against HTC may have "wider implications" for all phone makers using Google's Android operating system, an analyst has warned.

苹果公司对HTC的诉讼可能对所有使用谷歌Android操作系统的手机用户有着“更广泛的意义”。

HTC was the first manufacturer to use Android in its phones

Ian Fogg of Forrester Research said that the case against HTC, in which Apple alleges（宣称，断言） infringement of 20 of its patents, could be the first of many.

Although Apple has not named Google in the suits, many of the named patents relate to operating system processes.

Google has taken the unusual step of publically supporting HTC in the case.

"We are not a party to this lawsuit," said a Google spokesperson.

"However, we stand behind our Android operating system and the partners who have helped us to develop it."

Wider implications

HTC was the first manufacturer to use Android in its phones and is also the maker of Google's own brand Nexus One handset.

Some have speculated（推测，思索） that Apple - which makes the popular iPhone - are attacking Google "by proxy" by filing the case against HTC.

"I think this is kind of an indirect lawsuit against Google," analyst Shaw Wu of Kaufman Brothers told Reuters.

Some of the patents that Apple allege have been infringed（侵犯，违反） are 15 years old and cover aspects of operating systems.

As a result, some believe that the patents cannot just relate to HTC and believe the case may just be an opening salvo（齐鸣，保留条款） against other firms and possibly Google..

"Simply because Apple has focused on HTC now doesn't mean it won't take action against other manufacturers later," Mr Fogg told BBC News.

"[This case] could have implications for all other phone manufacturers which have just announced their phones at Mobile World Congress."

Mobile World Congress is a showcase（陈列，展示） for the phone industry, held every February in Barcelona, Spain.

Manufactures including Sony Ericcson, LG, Samsung and HTC announced new handsets running Android at the show.

"2010 is going to be the year of Android," said Mr Fogg.

Apple announced the legal action against HTC on 2 March.