HTC remains confident it has strong grounds – for an appeal of an International Trade Commission initial ruling – that the company violated two Apple patents, according to media reports.

The ITC decision marks a preliminary legal victory for Apple over HTC, according to TechZone360.

The ruling – made by a U.S. administrative law judge – has to be reviewed by six members of the ITC, and HTC said it will appeal the initial ruling.

The ITC judge said that two out of 10 patents were violated, according to a report from The Associated Press.

In a statement released on Saturday, HTC General Counsel Grace Lei said the company is “highly confident we have a strong case for the ITC appeals process and are fully prepared to defend ourselves using all means possible."

HTC does not have the full ITC ruling – so the detailed analysis has yet to be made public.

In June, Apple filed the second lawsuit against HTC, according to a report from TechZone360. Apple said HTC violated two patents that were not named in the company’s first lawsuit, TechZone360 said.

Apple’s first lawsuit – from earlier this year – accused HTC of violating 20 patents.

If it loses the case, HTC's products could be banned from the United States, TechZone360 said.

In 2010, Apple alleged HTC violated several of its patents connected to the iPhone device.

Apple sold some 18.65 million iPhones during the first quarter of 2011. Details on Apple’s recent quarter are expected on Tuesday. The company may have sold some 17 million iPhones in the most recent quarter, according to The AP.

In contrast, HTC sold some 9.7 million Android-based phones during the first quarter. HTC manufactures the Incredible and other smartphones that operate on Android OS, made by Google, The AP said.