Apple has filed a lawsuit against mobile phone manufacturer HTC due to alleged iPhone patent infringements.

According to Apple, HTC infringed 20 of Apples patents relating to the iPhone’s user interface, underlying architecture and hardware.

The lawsuit was filed concurrently with the US International Trade Commission and in the US District Court in Delaware.

Steve Jobs, Apple CEO, said that Apple will not sit by and let other companies steal its inventions.

“We can sit by and watch competitors steal our patented inventions, or we can do something about it. We have decided to do something about it,” he said.

“We think competition is healthy, but competitors should create their own original technology, not steal ours.”

Since its launch in 2007, the Apple iPhone has sold over 40 million handsets worldwide. The company’s App Store, which launched in 2008, now has more than 150,000 mobile applications in over 90 countries.