ITC Says Motorola Did Not Infringe on Apple’s Patents

The ITC has given a preliminary ruling that Motorola does not infringe on several of Apple's patents, among them key multi-touch patents.

The plot thickens in the Apple vs Motorola war. To recap, Motorola sued Apple late in 2010, claiming that Apple infringed on 18 of its patents. Among those were some essential patents which won a preliminary injunction against Apple over in Germany last month. In October of 2010, Apple countersued Motorola, claiming that they violated numerous software patents, including several multi-touch patents.

Now, CNET reports that the US International Trade Commission made a preliminary ruling in favor of Motorola, claiming that they have not infringed on Apple's patents. The ITC had planned on issuing an initial determination at the end of November, 2011, with a final decision coming this March. Despite the delay, Motorola is clearly pleased with the outcome. The ruling is preliminary and has to be approved by ITC's full six-member commission.

Many companies have started involving the ITC in patent-related disputes in the past few years. ITC cases can be filed alongside civil lawsuits. Moreover, the power of the ITC to ban importing and selling of products typically leads the disputing companies to settle more quickly than via civil lawsuits alone. If Apple had won, they could have had this type of exclusion order, sending Motorola into dire straits.

Apple seems to be having a rough time right now, especially considering many of the recent rulings across the world. And, with Google having bought Motorola Mobility, the final ruling could have a significant positive bearing on the Android platform.

[via CNET, ITC Ruling (PDF)]