A federal judge on Monday threw out Apple’s lawsuit against Google’s Motorola Mobility unit that claimed patent abuse, a setback for the iPhone maker in its efforts to gain leverage in the smartphone patent wars.

The two rivals were to square off in Federal District Court in Madison, Wis., on Monday over the library of patents that Google acquired along with Motorola for $12.5 billion in May. Apple contended that Motorola’s licensing practices were unfair.

But Judge Barbara B. Crabb questioned late last week whether she had the legal authority to hear Apple’s claims, and on Monday she dismissed the case.

In an earlier legal brief, Apple claimed the judge had that authority. Apple declined to comment Monday; a Google spokeswoman said it was pleased.

Apple has filed lawsuits in courts around the world against Google and its partners like Samsung Electronics, which use the Android operating system. Apple contends that Android is a copy of the iOS smartphone software used in the iPhone.

In its lawsuit in Wisconsin, Apple accused Google of demanding too high a royalty for some of its so-called standard essential patents. Judge Crabb had said that she might decide what a fair royalty for Motorola’s patents should be. In a court filing last week, Apple argued that it would not consider itself bound by Judge Crabb’s rate if it exceeded $1 per iPhone.

Given that, Judge Crabb questioned whether she could issue merely an advisory opinion. “It has become clear that Apple’s interest in a license is qualified,” she wrote on Friday.