Apple seeks evidence from English semiconductor firm to fend off HTC’s patent infringement allegations

Apple has asked a U.S. court to send a ‘letter for request’ to judicial authorities in England to enable the consumer electronics giant to obtain evidence and testimony from fabless semiconductor firm Cambridge Silicon Radio International (CSR), The Next Web has learned.

Basically, Apple believes CSR can provide it with evidence and a deposition testimony that would enable the company to better defend itself against patent infringement allegations brought by Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC in a U.S. trade commission investigation.

CSR is a publicly-listed semiconductor company that specializes in the areas of audio, connectivity, location and imaging technologies (GPS, Bluetooth, WiFi, NFC, FM radio and whatnot). It is based in Cambridge, England.

But, as the UK is a signatory of the Hague Convention, however, Apple cannot obtain what it claims is ‘highly relevant evidence’ directly from CSR just like that.

From the court documents, embedded below:

“Apple’s proposed Letter of Request seeks assistance from the English judicial authorities to obtain documents and testimony from CSR England. The requested information is narrowly tailored to obtain evidence of prior art sales and devices that bear on the validity of the asserted patents.”

In September 2011, HTC filed a complaint with the ITC that alleges Apple devices infringe on eight of its U.S. patents. HTC seeks, among other things, an exclusion order barring importation of Apple’s allegedly infringing devices.

Apple’s defenses to the allegations include that the asserted patents are invalid, and that’s where CSR comes into the picture.

Apple says its defense requires information about CSR’s ‘publications, public uses, sales and offers for sale of products’ that predate the ‘alleged inventions claimed in the asserted patents’. For more background on Apple vs. HTC, check Wikipedia.

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