The industry patent battles stepped up a notch yesterday, with Microsoft making a complaint to the European Commission against Motorola Mobility and Google, arguing that Motorola has “broken its promise” to licence standards-essential patents on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms.

In a blog post, Dave Heiner, VP and deputy general counsel in Microsoft’s Corporate Standards & Antitrust Group, said that the action is related to wireless connectivity and video capabilities included in PCs, the Xbox games console, “and other products.”

Microsoft said that in legal proceedings on both sides of the Atlantic, Motorola is demanding that it either takes its products of the market, or removes the standards-based ability to connect wirelessly or play video. Heiner said: “When the industry adopted these standards, we all were counting on Motorola and every contributor to live up to their promises. Watching video on the Web is one of the primary uses of computers these days. And we’ve all grown accustomed to “anytime, anywhere” access to the Internet, often made possible by the Wi-Fi standard.”

The company has also named Google in its complaint, because Motorola’s “new owner doesn’t seem to be willing to change course.”

Microsoft also looked to differentiate its strategy for licensing patents from those of Motorola and Google. It said that it is “not seeking to block Android manufacturers from shipping products on the basis of standard essential patents,” and that instead its strategy is focused on patents that have not been contributed to a standard. It also said that it is making its intellectual property available to all Android manufacturers on fair and reasonable terms, with more than 70 percent of Android devices now licensed to use its patent portfolio.

Microsoft is not the only company following a similar path with regard to Motorola. Earlier this week it was reported that Apple has also made a complaint to the EC about the US mobile pioneer’s FRAND licensing regime.

When it cleared the acquisition of Motorola Mobility by Google, the EC said it would “keep a close eye on the behaviour of all market players in the sector, particularly the increasingly strategic use of patents.”

It was noted previously that Google had made a pledge to license Motorola’s patents fairly, in order to secure regulatory approval for the transaction.