A search for a Higgs boson in the four-lepton decay channel , with each Z boson decaying to an electron or muon pair, is presented using 4.71 \pm 0.21 \; \ifb of integrated luminosity recorded by the CMS detector in pp collisions from the LHC at = 7 TeV. The search covers Higgs boson mass hypotheses of 110 < m_{\rm H} < 600 \GeVcc. Seventy-two events are observed with invariant mass m_{4\ell} > 100 \GeVcc (with thirteen below 160 \GeVcc), while () events are expected from standard model background processes. Their mass distribution is consistent with the expectation of standard model continuum production of pairs, with no significant excess at any mass in the range under study. Upper limits at 95\% CL on the product of the cross section and branching ratio exclude the standard model Higgs boson in the ranges 134 < m_{\rm H} < 158 \GeVcc, 180 < m_{\rm H} < 305 \GeVcc and 340 < m_{\rm H} < 465 \GeVcc.