Apple has been cleared of accusations that iPhone technology infringed on a Motorola Mobility patent, according to a federal appeals court.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld the International Trade Commission's April decision that Apple had not violated a Google patent to create the iPhone, Reuters reported.

"We're disappointed in this decision and are evaluating our options," Google unit Motorola said in a statement provided to Reuters, while Apple declined to comment.

The lawsuit has been ongoing since 2010, when Motorola Mobility accused Apple of infringing on six patents for such innovations as reducing signal noise and programming a touch screen not to be activated by a user's head while talking on the phone, according to Reuters.

The recent appeals court decision only addressed one of the patents. The ITC ruling last April said that Apple hadn't violated any of the six patents in questions.

When Google purchased Motorola in 2012 for $12.5 billion, the tech giant acquired the patents as well as the lawsuit.

According to Reuters, "the ITC, a U.S. trade panel that investigates patent infringement involving imported goods, is a popular venue for patent lawsuits because it can bar the importation of infringing products and because it issues decisions relatively quickly."

The smartphone industry has been rife with lawsuits as competitors fight for market share. In November, a federal jury found that Samsung should pay Apple $290 million in damages after a patent dispute about technology in phones and tablets, USA TODAY reported.

The civil suit centered around technology used in iPhones and iPads had Apple seeking some $380 million. Samsung countered that it should only pay $52 million for using Apple's "pinch to zoom" and other features.

Another trial in March will determine if current Samsung devices are infringing on patents shielding the iPhone and iPad, as Apple claims. 

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