HTC smartphones could be banned in US next week

             

            HTC shipped more than 5.7 million smartphones to the U.S. last quarter, according to Canalys, beating out Samsung and Apple to become the country’s leading smartphone vendor.

So there’s a lot at stake for the giant Taiwanese phone maker — and indeed for the manufacturers of all Google (GOOG) Android phones — in the ruling due next week from a six-member panel at the International Trade Commission in Washington.

In July, an ITC administrative law judge determined that HTC’s phones had infringed — “stolen” in Steve Jobs’ words — two Apple (AAPL) patents. HTC appealed the decision, and the outcome of that appeal is now scheduled to be announced next Wednesday.

There have been a lot of headlines lately about Apple vs. Android patent rulings, some in Apple’s favor, some against. But this could be the big one.

The two patents at issue appear to be at Android’s core. If HTC has infringed them, according to FOSS Patents‘ Florian Mueller, so have the makers of all Android phones.

“Google’s Android mobile operating system is in serious trouble,” Mueller wrote after last summer’s ruling. “It’s hard to see how any Android device could not infringe [the patents], or how companies could work around them.”

In the worst case scenario for HTC, the trade commission could ban the import of its Android phones at the height of the holiday selling season, and its 25% U.S. smartphone market share could shrink to 0.0%.

HTC shares fell to their lowest level in 17 months in the Asian markets Monday on that fear.

The ITC can impose import bans but it can’t award monetary damages. If Apple wins this case, it could offer to license the technology to HTC or, more likely, sue HTC for damages in federal court.