Motorola surprisingly withdraws Apple complaint from ITC

Motorola Mobility, a unit of Google, yesterday withdrew a complaint against Apple -- its second one -- from the U.S. International Trade Commission.

The complaint involved the infringement of seven non-essential standards patents that Motorola accused Apple of violating, according to Foss Patents, which first spotted the move.

It's a surprise move given the trend of escalating legal battles between Apple and its various opponents, from Samsung Electronics to Motorola.

What's surprising is Motorola just filed the complaint in August, and there isn't any reason given for the withdrawal. Two weeks ago, the ITC said it would look at the complaint.

A withdrawal could signal a possible resolution to the conflict between Motorola and Apple, but Foss Patent's Florian Mueller, a legal consultant, noted that the filling, which became public today, explicitly states that there are no agreements between the two parties.

Mueller floated the idea that Motorola withdrew its complaint after Administrative Law Judge Theodore Essex began looking at the case, noting that Judge Essex often puts up a high bar for complaints.

"Maybe it's not just a coincidence that Motorola withdrew its complaint shortly after his appointment," he said in his blog.

CNET has contacted Motorola and Apple for comment. We'll update the story when the companies respond.

Apple remains embroiled in legal entanglements with several Android vendors. Samsung, for instance, filed its lawsuit against Apple to include the iPhone 5 in its complaint, while a judge dismissed a U.S. ban on the Galaxy Tab 10.1.