Apple, Motorola Face Off Again

(Dow Jones) - Apple Inc. Friday filed a lawsuit against Motorola Mobility Inc., in the US District Court in San Diego in the latest maneuver in a series of legal battles between smartphone makers that has included litigation between the companies in Germany.

The suit, which claims Apple's iPhone 4S is protected under a license agreement from Qualcomm Inc,
is a bid by the consumer electronics giant to ward off future injunctions from Motorola.

In its suit, Apple said it should be protected from such court orders because of its rights as a customer of Qualcomm, whose chips are licensed by Motorola.

Apple's suit came after a German court dismissed a different Motorola suit against Apple earlier Friday. The dispute garnered particular attention when Motorola enforced an injunction from a local court there that made Apple temporarily suspend sales of some iPads and older iPhones because they allegedly infringed a Motorola patent.

The injunction was lifted, but around the same time, Motorola told the German court that Apple's newest smartphone, iPhone 4S, should have been blocked from sale as well, according to documents in the California case. Apple said in the documents that it argued its iPhone 4S is made using Qualcomm communications chips, and should benefit from Qualcomm's license with Motorola.

Motorola, on the other hand, had asked Qualcomm to revoke its license to Apple, the court document said. Qualcomm refused.

"An actual and justiciable controversy exists between Apple and Motorola with respect to whether Apple is authorized to use Qualcomm components," Apple wrote, adding that Motorola could cause "irreparable harm" if it is not kept from filing additional lawsuits alleging Apple infringes its patents.

Apple, Motorola and Qualcomm all declined to comment.

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