Steve Jobs might have found a way to beat back Google’s advances in the cellphone space — target the manufacturer of the Internet giant’s phones.

Jobs’ company, Apple, yesterday launched a legal attack on cellphone maker HTC that could also waylay Google by preventing HTC from importing its phones into the US.

Apple accused Taiwan-based HTC, which makes several phones powered by Google’s Android mobile software, of violating 20 patents related to its popular iPhone.

“We can sit by and watch competitors steal our patented inventions, or we can do something about it,” Jobs said in a statement. “We think competition is healthy, but competitors should create their own original technology, not steal ours.”

Apple filed a complaint with the International Trade Commission and is seeking to block HTC devices from reaching US shores, and also filed a patent-infringement lawsuit in federal court in Delaware.

HTC said in a statement that “it values patent rights and their enforcement,” but declined to comment on Apple’s claims. Google said, “We are not a party to this lawsuit. However, we stand behind our Android operating system and the partners who have helped us to develop it.” Although Google isn’t named as a defendant in either complaint, Apple singled out a number of HTC models that use Android, including the Nexus One phone that Google sells directly to consumers.

While patent disputes are common in the cellphone business, legal experts said the attack could give other handset makers pause, potentially slowing down the adoption of Android.

The competition is fierce in the market for so-called smart phones where models such as Apple’s iPhone and Google’s Nexus One are duking it out for customers. With Post Wires