Motorola fails yet again in Apple iPhone patent case

US appeals court says that Apple did not infringe wireless delivery of data patent

Google-owned Motorola Mobility has failed in its attempts to halt US imports of Apple's iPhone, as the US appeals court judged that the Cupertino, California-based firm did not infringe a patent owned by Google.

Google acquired Motorola's mobile phone unit in 2012 for $12.5bn (£8bn), and was using the patents that were bought as part of the package to mire its rival Apple in legal proceedings, but this strategy has not worked, with Google yet to win a significant case against the iPad-maker in court.

The firm had initially suggested that Apple devices should be banned in the US, claiming that Apple had infringed six Motorola patents in its iPhone that were not considered to be "standards essential", and that Apple was unwilling to negotiate a licence for these.

After several of its complaints were dismissed by the US International Trade Commission, Motorola appealed for one of the patents - "a method and apparatus in a wireless communication system for controlling a delivery of data from a fixed portion of the wireless communication system to a subscriber unit". Google had also asserted that Microsoft had infringed the same patent.

The judging panel on the case against Apple said that the commission had made the right call - that Apple had used a different technique to the one Google had suggested.

Motorola spokesman Matt Kallman told Bloomberg that Google was disappointed and was "evaluating its options". Apple declined to comment.