germany
18 July 2018Patents

Motorola secures victory over Hytera in Germany

Telecoms equipment company Motorola Solutions secured another victory over rival Hytera Communications earlier this week, after the Regional Court of Mannheim in Germany granted an injunction against Hytera.

This is the latest development in an ongoing battle over radio technology between the two companies.

Motorola announced yesterday, July 17, that the court determined that China-based Hytera is infringing Motorola’s European patent 1,139,562, which covers technology that improves the audio performance in two-way handheld radios and car radios.

Along with granting an injunction against Hytera, the court also ordered the recall and destruction of infringing products sold by the company in Germany.

This is the first ruling against Hytera related to the ‘562 patent, which Motorola hasn’t asserted against Hytera anywhere else in the world.

Although Hytera can appeal against the judgment, it is immediately enforceable when Motorola posts a security, an act that will be completed “very shortly”, Motorola said.

Hytera confirmed that it would appeal against the decision and seek to invalidate the asserted patent.

A spokesperson for Hytera said: “Be assured: in Germany, in the US, and around the world, Hytera is in the market to stay. We will continue to innovate.”

Mark Hacker, general counsel and chief administrative officer of Motorola, said: “Today’s victory marks another milestone in our global efforts to hold Hytera accountable for its infringement of our patents and to preserve the integrity of our IP.”

Earlier in July, the US International Trade Commission (ITC) upheld Motorola’s allegations of patent infringement against Hytera.

Motorola initially accused Hytera of infringing seven US patents which cover two-way radio equipment systems and related software. It later withdrew three of the patents.

Administrative Law Judge Mary Joan McNamara determined that claims in the four patents are valid and have been infringed by Hytera.

However, she also noted that none of Motorola’s products use one of the four patents asserted, meaning that Motorola failed to meet the legal requirement of showing a “technical domestic industry” on that patent.

McNamara recommended that an exclusion order be made to prevent the importation of products infringing the three remaining patents.

A final determination is scheduled to be issued by November 6 this year.

Yesterday, Hytera filed a petition at the ITC requesting review of the determination and claiming that its products don’t infringe Motorola’s patents.

During proceedings, Hytera produced documents and source code related to several new designs. The Chinese company has also asked the ITC to affirm that these new products aren’t infringing.

Tom Wineland, vice president of Hytera Communications America (West), said: “Hytera looks forward to the disposition of this case at the ITC and to resolving the series of nuisance litigations our competitor has filed against us.”

A spokesperson for Motorola said that McNamara's ruling followed a lengthy investigation that culminated in a week-long hearing with testimony from both Motorola and Hytera witnesses, hundreds of pages of briefing materials and thousands of exhibits.

“As such, the judge’s ruling validates our allegations, upholds the integrity of our IP and rebukes Hytera for its unscrupulous and unlawful behaviour in wilfully infringing Motorola’s patents. We are confident that the full ITC will uphold this decision in its final determination.”

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More on this story

Patents
6 September 2018   Hytera received good news this week when the US International Trade Commission (ITC) agreed to review in-part a final initial determination that had gone in favour of Motorola Solutions, amid a global war between the two companies.
Patents
19 November 2018   The US International Trade Commission issued a notice of final determination in a patent dispute between telecoms equipment company Motorola Solutions and rival Hytera late last week.
Patents
23 November 2018   Motorola Solutions, a telecoms equipment provider, has secured injunctions against Chinese rival Hytera Communications in a patent infringement dispute.