Motorola did not infringe Apple's patents says ITC

TOYMAKER FOR THE WELL HEELED Apple has failed in its bid to get Motorola's smartphones banned by the US International Trade Commission (ITC), after its preliminary report said the firm did not infringe Apple's patents.

Motorola, which pending antitrust approval will become an independent subsidiary of Google, has been slugging it out with Apple in a patent battle since 2010, with Apple having filed a complaint with the ITC accusing Motorola of infringing three of its patents. However, in a preliminary statement the ITC said that Motorola's handsets do not infringe Apple's patents.

Motorola's preliminary victory against Apple should cheer Google enormously and is likely to provide support for its efforts to influence antitrust regulators to green light its acquisition of part of the company. Google's $12.5bn bid for Motorola Mobility, the firm's handset division, is widely seen as a way for Google to add to its patent portfolio for use in various patent lawsuits, the number of which also increased on Friday.

Digitude Innovations filed a complaint against just about every smartphone and tablet maker including Amazon, HTC, LG, Motorola, Nokia, RIM, Samsung and Sony, requesting that the ITC issue an "exclusion order and a cease and desist order". The ITC is investigating the complaint and will decide whether to press ahead within 45 days.

While the ITC mulls over this latest smartphone patent infringement claim, it will return its full report on Apple's complaint against Motorola in March. µ