LOL, Apple probably feel threaten by the power of HTC.  Canaccord Adams analyst Peter Misek noted that Apple has not sued that many companies in the past, so the HTC suit must either be a strategic move or the result of what Apple considers a clear infringement on its patents.

Apple Inc., increasingly facing tougher competition in the lucrative market for smart phones, sued Taiwanese phone maker HTC Corp. on Tuesday, accusing the rival of violating patents related to the popular iPhone.

HTC was the first company to manufacture a cell phone based on Google Inc.'s Android operating system, which has emerged as a significant competitor to the iPhone. It is also making the Nexus One phone, which Google is selling directly to consumers.

Apple said HTC has infringed on 20 of its patents covering aspects of the iPhone's user interface and hardware.

source: AP and Yahoo finance