HTC might be suing Apple over patents, but now both company’s have been named as defendants in a lawsuit filed by technology, product design, product development and marketing company ClassCo, along with some other tech big wigs.

According to Electronista, ClassCo filed the lawsuit on Thursday with the US District Court for the Norther District of Illinois, claiming that the Cupertino-based iPhone and iPad maker, as well as HP (as owner of Palm), HTC, LG, BlackBerry holding company Research In Motion, Samsung, Huawei and ZTE all violate its patents for caller ID.  

The two patents in question have to do with "Calling Party Announcement Apparatus." It also has a real product to offer relating to the patent dispute, the ClassCo VoiceAnnounce Caller ID device (demo video posted below). This device displays the incoming caller’s (or party phoning’s) number on a small screen, and also enables users to record announcements that will be spoken out during a call, such as “the boss phoning”.  

According to ClassCo, having a mobile phone that identifies the person phoning you, is an infringement of its caller ID patents. It is seeking “compensatory damages” from the above-mentioned companies, “in an amount no less than a reasonable royalty” on the patents.

ClassCo is also asking for a possible injunction that would ban any product infringing on its patents. The company has also previously sued Motorola as well as Kyocera International over the same patents.

In patent related news, Microsoft has recently signed patent agreements with two new Android original equipment manufacturer (OEM) partners, Acer and ViewSonic.