The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) has officially ruled in favor of Apple against Google’s Motorola Mobility in a patent case that began in 2010. The last patent Motorola was using to sue Apple for infringement has been ruled invalid by the ITC.

Motorola sued Apple for allegedly violating six of its patents three years ago, and today’s patent was the last of six patents to be thrown out of court. If Motorola would have proven Apple’s infringement of this particular patent, the ITC could have possibly blocked sales of certain iPhone models.

The patent in question relates to the “sensor controlled user interface” for a “portable communication device.” According to FOSS Patents, “The patent relates to the feature that a touch screen ignores touches if the user is on a phone call and holds the device close to his head. Google wanted the ITC to ban the importation of any iPhones with that feature into the U.S. market.”

Google can still appeal the decision, and it likely will. The court had previously ruled that Apple was in violation of one of Motorola’s other six patents, but a judge later ruled that the patent was invalid. Google is currently in the process of appealing that decision as well.

• SourceFOSS Patents