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The Apple vs. HTC patent war may be the tech story of the week, but it’s not the only patent fight involving Apple. The company is also involved a patent dispute with Nokia in which both companies accuse the other of violating their intellectual property. That fight is on pause after a federal judge in Delaware issued a stay in order to let the U.S. International Trade Commission settle the dispute.

Nokia filed a complaint against Apple in October 2009, alleging that the iPhone infringes on 10 patents held by Nokia. Apple soon responded with similar claims that Nokia’s devices violate patents that held by Apple. Both companies filed complaints with ITC, which agreed to investigate each party’s claims. The ongoing investigation made court proceedings redundant, so it makes sense for the judge to issue a temporary stay until the ITC releases its findings. The hold on the case applies to both Nokia’s claims and Apple’s counterclaims.

Apple grabbed headlines when it announced it was > the Apple claims are copied in HTC’s Android phones. The move was cynically seen as an attack on the Android operating system as a whole rather than just the actions of HTC. This dispute also features both a simultaneous legal filing and a compliant with the ITC. It’s too early to tell if that court proceeding will also be halted, but it’s likely that the ITC’s investigation in one patent dispute is likely to affect the other.

Read [AP]