The U.S. International Trade Commission has determined that Apple did not infringe engineering patents have by S3 Graphics and terminate its investigation of the affair , the ITC announced Monday .

Thedecisionis a reversal for handset maker HTC , which recently acquired S3 and is fighting its own patent of invention battles with Apple at the ITC and elsewhere .

S3 filed its complaint in May last class , accusing Apple of infringing four of its patent related to image rendering . In July , an administrative law judge release aninitial decisionthatsided with S3on two of those patents .

Monday ’s decision overturned that determination , however .

“ Having examined the record of this investigation , include the [ administrative constabulary judge ’s initial conclusion ] and the submissions of the company and non - party , the Commission has settle to reverse the [ administrative law judge ’s ] finding of a misdemeanour of section 337 and find no violation , ” the ITC said .

HTCannounced its planto grease one’s palms S3 for $ 300 million in July , just after the ITC ’s initial conclusion came out . It was seen as a direction for HTC to strengthen its patent of invention arsenal against Apple and other challenger .

“ We are frustrated , but respect the ITC ’s decision , ” HTC said in a instruction Monday . “ While the outcome is not what we hoped for , we will refresh the ruling once the commission provides it and will then consider all options , including appeal . ”

It ’s not the end of the matter for another reason , too : In September , S3 filed a disjoined ailment with the ITC , accusing Apple of violating a unlike stage set of patent .

Apple , meanwhile , has file away its own complaints against HTC , at the ITC and in U.S. federal court of justice .

In a spin , Advanced Micro Devices file a move in September to intervene in the case that was just terminated , claiming the patent of invention avow by S3 really belong to to AMD . The ITC denied AMD ’s motion to intervene , but it allowed AMD to file a further move in the lawsuit .

The ITC is a U.S. federal agency set up to inquire trade issues and provide advice to the president and U.S. lawgiver .