Judge approves $765m Motorola order against Chinese competitor
A judge has approved the verdict awarding $765 million in damages to Motorola Solutions, after a jury found that Chinese rival Hytera Communications had stolen its radio trade secrets.
The US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois issued an order approving the verdict on Thursday, March 5, finding that it was “supported by a sufficient evidentiary basis”.
The court has yet to rule on Motorola Solutions’ request for an injunction banning sales of the infringing products.
In February, a jury at the Illinois court awarded Motorola $345.8 million in compensatory damages and $418.8 million in punitive damages after finding that Hytera used its competitor’s proprietary source code.
The technology allowed Hytera to gain an unfair advantage in the two-way radio market, Motorola argued.
Motorola CEO Greg Brown claimed in the wake of the verdict that “Hytera was simply profiting off of the hard work and innovation of our world-class engineers”.
The two parties are still arguing over the terms of an injunction restricting the sale of Hytera’s infringing products.
According to Hytera, “Motorola proposes a worldwide ban on the manufacture, distribution, and sale of those products, while Hytera proposes a ban in the US”.
Hytera said it had also specified more precisely what goods should be subject to an injunction, whereas Motorola has only “vague categories of products”.
The $765 million in damages relate to claims filed against Hytera under copyright law over the use of Motorola’s source-code.
Motorola has filed separate claims of patent infringement against Hytera, which are pending at the same court and expected to proceed to trial late this year or early 2021.
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