Apple filed a US lawsuit late last week related to its ongoing legal disputes with Motorola Mobility in Germany, stating that because its iPhone 4S product is powered by processors from Qualcomm, it is a “third party beneficiary” of an existing agreement between Motorola and Qualcomm.

In a filing made with the court for the US Southern District of California (where Qualcomm is based), the iPhone maker asks the court to “enjoin Motorola from prosecuting and enforcing its claims against Apple in Germany.”  It said that “Qualcomm has informed Apple that Qualcomm has already paid Motorola for the licenses and covenants for Qualcomm and its customers, including Apple.”

According to the documents, Motorola contacted Qualcomm early last year to “terminate any and all licence and covenant rights with respect to Apple.” However, Qualcomm responded by stating it disagreed with Motorola’s contention that this could take place under a “defensive suspension” provision, which would enable Motorola to terminate rights based on suits brought by Apple.

Motorola has previously been successful in several of its German actions against Apple, including a December 2011 ruling which recently saw some of its iOS devices – temporarily – removed from sale in the country. It has also recently won a case related to Apple’s iCloud services.

Meanwhile Bloomberg reports that Motorola has today lost out in another German case, related to the use of “mathematical sequences in mobile telecommunications.” Apparently, Motorola did not demonstrate that Apple is violating the patent.