Motorola Inc. (NYSE: MOT) has launched a lawsuit against a former executive who has joined Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) as global head of iPhone sales, claiming he is breaking a non-compete agreement and is privy to Moto's trade secrets, local news reports revealed Friday afternoon.

The Schaumburg, Ill.-based networking giant, which has been struggling in the mobile device market for over a year, sued Michael Fenger, its former senior vice president of mobile devices for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, on Thursday in Cook County Circuit Court, the Chicago Daily Herald reports.

Motorola alleges that Fenger agreed to not work for a competitor within two years of resigning, and that he cannot work for Apple without disclosing numerous confidential Motorola practices.

Fenger left Motorola in March 2008 and joined Apple shortly after. Motorola has seen quite a few executives depart its struggling handset division as the firm tries to spin off the unit. (See Motorola Loses Ex-Handset Head and More Moto Exec Shakeouts.)

Apple has made no official comment on the case.

— Dan Jones, Site Editor, Unstrung