Apple Wins Case Brought by Google’s Motorola Over iPhones

Apple won a patent-infringement case brought by Google’s Motorola Mobility unit over a phone sensor, averting an order that could have hindered imports of the iPhone 4 into the US.

The US International Trade Commission in Washington upheld a judge’s findings that the Motorola Mobility patent is invalid, though for different reasons. The patent covers a sensor that prevents the phone from accidentally hanging up or activating an application when close to a person’s face. The decision marks the latest instance in which neither Apple nor Google has been able to strike a decisive blow against its competitor in a squabble that began more than two years ago. Each has claimed the other is infringing patents, and Apple accused Motorola Mobility of breaching obligations to license some of its most widely used technology on fair terms.