Apple suffers UK patent defeat to HTC

Taiwan's HTC on Wednesday won a London court ruling against U.S. tech giant Apple Inc over a series of patent infringement claims linked to technology used in its mobile devices.

London's High Court said in a ruling carried on its website that HTC's devices did not infringe four Apple technology patents, including Apple's 'slide-to-unlock' feature.

HTC also challenged patents on the Apple iPhone's multi-touch system and the way the iPhone manages photographs.

Apple is also fighting patent lawsuits against South Korean rival Samsung. HTC has been embroiled in a string of battles with Apple, forcing it at one point to delay the

launch of one of its flagship devices in the United States, once its biggest market.

Earlier this week a U.S. trade panel turned down Apple's request to immediately ban some HTC smartphones from being imported into the United States because of accusations that they infringe an Apple patent.

The International Trade Commission said in December that some HTC smartphones infringed an Apple patent for technology that allows users to click on phone numbers or other data in an email or other document to either dial directly or bring up more information.