Motorola withdraws patent claims against Apple

Google subsidiary Motorola Mobility has dropped a patent infringement complaint against Apple without explanation.

In a brief filing with the International Trade Commission on Monday, Motorola Mobility said it was dropping without prejudice a complaint that Apple had infringed on seven patents held by the rival smartphone maker.

Reuters had reported in August that the two companies were in settlement talks. Telephone calls to Google on the matter were not immediately returned. Apple did not return calls seeking comment.

The complaint can be re-submitted. Google did say in its filing that "there are no agreements between Motorola and Apple, written or oral, express or implied, concerning the subject matter of this investigation".

The two companies have been locked in an international patent war since 2010, as Apple has sought to limit the growth of Google's Android system. The fight has embroiled Samsung, HTC and others that use Android.

The biggest victory in the fight so far belongs to Apple. On August 24, a jury in a California federal court ordered Samsung to pay $US1.05 billion in damages after finding that Samsung had copied critical features of the iPhone and iPad and could face an outright sales ban on key products.

Samsung was the top-selling mobile-phone maker in the second quarter of 2012, with Apple in third place, according to data from Gartner.