Motorola sues Apple for patent infringement

Reuters) - Motorola Inc said its cellphone business has filed complaints with U.S. courts and regulators accusing Apple Inc  of infringing 18 patents with its iPhone, iPad, iTouch and some of its computers.

The complaints follow a Microsoft Corp lawsuit against Motorola and are the latest in a flurry of suits involving Apple and mobile phone vendors including Nokia and HTC Corp and mobile software provider Google Inc.

Motorola said on Wednesday that the complaints relate to Apple’s MobileMe service and its software application store regarding patents that cover wireless email, proximity sensing, application management, location-based services and technology for synchronizing multiple devices.

In one complaint Motorola asked the U.S. International Trade Commission to investigate Apple and bar the U.S. sale of the infringing products.

Motorola, which has lost out heavily to Apple in the cellphone market in the last three years, also filed federal court lawsuits in the Northern District of Illinois and in the Southern District of Florida.