Motorola wins US$765 million from Chinese rival Hytera over theft of trade secrets
- Communications company accused of hiring Motorola engineers and tapping into thousands of proprietary documents
- Motorola now seeking order to block sale of Hytera radios in US to stop further use of its trade secret and copyrighted source code
Motorola Solutions won a US$764.6 million verdict after a federal jury in Chicago said Chinese rival Hytera Communications stole the company’s critical trade secrets for two-way radio technology. Hytera pledged to appeal.
The jury awarded US$345.8 million in compensatory damages and US$418.8 million in punitive damages – the full amount sought by Motorola.
Jurors reached their decision after deliberating 2½ hours following a trial that sprawled over three months. Motorola lawyers said they would seek an order blocking the sale of Hytera’s radios in the US, to stop further use of its trade secrets and copyrighted source code.
The case is the latest example of an American company accusing a Chinese firm of luring away employees and using pilfered know-how to develop new products. The overarching goal, American officials contend, is to help China’s efforts to transform from the world’s factory to an economic superpower.
The verdict is “a tremendous victory for Motorola Solutions”, Chief Executive Greg Brown said in a statement. “Hytera was simply profiting off of the hard work and innovation of our world-class engineers.”
Hytera had denied stealing technology and said it developed its radios on its own.
