The ITC has dismissed a patent infringement claim from S3 Graphics against Apple. The ruling is bad news for HTC, which is engaged in its own patent battles with Apple, and is in the midst of acquiring S3 Graphics–ostensibly to shore up its patent arsenal.

A blog post from Florian Mueller, a patent and intellectual property analyst, explains that the official notice does not provide any details specifying why the ITC overruled the preliminary decision of the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ). The official notice from the ITC simply states that no violation has been shown, and officially terminates the investigation.