With Motorola stressing that the new complaint announced Friday is not for standards-essential patents, it is signaling that it has more legal ammunition in its battle against products from rival Apple.

The ITC cases are only part of the patent duel between Motorola Mobility and Apple. Apple and Motorola Mobility have separately for the Northern District of Illinois to throw out a case involving FRAND terms for standards-essential patents.

In addition, in its patent dispute with Motorola Mobility, which has resulted in European cases including a legal battle in German courts.

Motorola Mobility's patent claims have taken on wider significance in the tech industry since Google recently closed its US$12.5 billion deal to acquire Motorola Mobility, at least in part for Motorola's portfolio of patents.

Smartphones built on Google's Android operating system have been under patent and copyright attack in numerous venues around the world. For example, Apple and Samsung are currently on trial in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, in .