The European Commission is considering whether to formally investigate complaints brought by Apple Inc. (AAPL) and Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) against Motorola about the use of key patents, the European Union's competition chief said Friday.

"I am considering whether we need to investigate these complaints formally to help bring more clarity into this area of competition control," Joaquin Almunia said in a speech in Washington, D.C.

Earlier this year, the commission, the EU's antitrust body, received two complaints against Motorola Mobility Inc. (MMI) over the use of patents.

Microsoft Corp. filed a competition complaint against Motorola and its soon-to-be owner Google Inc. (GOOG) in connection with Motorola's handling of patents it holds that form part of industry-wide standards for Internet connectivity.

Apple has also recently filed a suit in California aimed at warding off any injunctions from Motorola Mobility on one of Apple's iPhones and last month made a similar complaint to the commission.

Almunia has been using strong language against telecom companies that abuse their market leadership by using so-called standard-essential patents to reduce competition, and he reiterated his point Friday.

"The holders of standard-essential patents have considerable market power. This market power can be used to harm competition; in some cases, the holders of standard-essential patents can effectively hold up the entire industry with the threat of banning the products of competitors from the market," Almunia said. "This is unacceptable, and I am determined to use antitrust enforcement to prevent such hold-up by patent holders."

-By Alessandro Torello, Dow Jones Newswires; +32 2 741 14 88; alessandro.torello@dowjones.com

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