The U.S. International Trade Commission has agreed to investigate a complaint by Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) against Motorola that claims Motorola infringes on Apple patents.

The action is part of a patent dispute between the two companies that saw Motorola fire the first salvo in October with a lawsuit and USITC complaint that alleged a range of Apple products violate its patents. The USITC has previously decided to investigate Motorola's complaints, which cover 18 patents that range from radio communications technologies to antenna design to location-based services.

Apple last month filed its own lawsuit and complaint with the USITC last month. It claims Motorola is infringing on six patents, and half of them focus on touchscreen technology.

The next step in the complaint is for an administrative law judge at the USITC to schedule an evidentiary hearing on the Apple complaint.

For more:
- see this CIO article

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