Last week came with the news that HTC's One X and EVO 4G LTE were being indefinitely delayed at Customs, due to an exclusion order the International Trade Commission issued back in December. The ITC found HTC infringed on one of Apple's patents related to context menus when selecting phone numbers or email addresses. The two HTC smartphones are now facing stock shortages in the U.S., but HTC has released a statement on Sunday, May 20, saying that some phones have already started to slip through Customs.

"Each imported HTC model must be reviewed by Customs and will be released once Customs officials have completed the inspection," HTC wrote on its investor Web site. "Some models have gone through inspection and been released to our carriers customers."

HTC Working Closely with Customs

"We don't have the status of each specific device model at this time, but we are working closely with Customs. We remain confident that this issue will be resolved soon," added the Taiwanese smartphone vendor.

HTC has customized its Android ROM in the U.S. in order to remove infringing context menus, instead enabling users to change which apps are launched in Settings. Under the exclusion order, HTC cannot import devices using Apple's patented technology to the United States after April 19.

One S Goes to T-Mobile

The ITC ruling in December does not target specific HTC phones. The HTC One S has reportedly slipped through Customs and on to T-Mobile, but the One X and EVO 4G LTE are still held at customs. One possibility is that the two smartphones have not been inspected yet, thus delaying the import. If HTC has removed the offending feature from Android's software, however, a green light from Customs is only a matter of time.

One X & EVO 4G LTE Still at Customs

AT&T started selling the HTC One X on May 6, but the device is currently listed as out of stock, according to the carrier's Web site. Sprint's HTC EVO 4G LTE was supposed to go on sale on May 18, but it is also listed as out of stock on Sprint's Web site. Meanwhile, Best Buy ditched the date completely, notifying pre-order customers that the product has been indefinitely delayed and there is no new date available yet.