ITC judge releases full determination, says Hytera employees ‘unquestionably copied’ Motorola tech

“While Hytera may be correct that there is no direct evidence that the three (3) Hytera employees copied the more than 7,000 documents they accessed, it is logical to infer that the Hytera Employees accessed these documents with the intent of acquiring information about Motorola’s DMR products for Hytera,” according to McNamara’s determination.

“The timing and circumstances of their actions are unequivocal and uncontested. Why Messrs. Y.T. Kok, G.S. Kok and Chia accessed so many confidential Motorola documents just before they left Motorola, and what they did with the documents may not be known, but the inference that can be drawn is clear.”

Indeed, Y.T. Kok had a Hytera company e-mail address while still being employed by Motorola, according to McNamara’s determination.

Furthermore, all three of the eventual Hytera employees made Fifth Amendment pleas to avoid self-incrimination when each was asked more than 60 questions about alleged copying of documents depicting Motorola Solutions technologies, McNamara’s determination states.

Hytera attorneys argued that Chia, G.S. Kok and Y.T. Kok opted to make Fifth Amendment pleas at the behest of their personal lawyers, because doing so would waive their right to a Fifth Amendment plea in parallel litigation.

“According to Hytera, ‘Motorola did not sue Messrs. Kok, Kok, and Chia, but accused them of crimes in the trade-secret case, so those individuals were represented by separate counsel, not under Hytera’s control, who took positions contrary to Hytera’s interests or the wishes of Hytera’s counsel,’” according to McNamara’s determination.

Mark Hacker, general counsel and chief administrative officer of Motorola Solutions, applauded McNamara’s findings.

“Hytera has built its business by copying the hard work and innovation of Motorola Solutions. Judge McNamara’s findings categorically validate the merits of Motorola Solutions’ global litigation against Hytera to stop its improper and illegal behavior,” Hacker said in a prepared statement.

“We thank Judge McNamara for both her diligence and the strong, clear language she used to condemn Hytera’s actions. We remain committed to vigorously protecting Motorola Solutions’ intellectual property in the United States and internationally and look forward to the final determination by the ITC.”

Calls by IWCE’s Urgent Communications to Hytera Communications representatives seeking comment on McNamara’s findings were not returned in time to be included in this article.

Earlier this month, Hytera Communications submitted letters from seven of its dealers, who stated that the recommended remedies from McNamara would harm their businesses and would not be in the public interest. However, McNamara stated that she did not consider the public-interest implications, because Hytera did not provide any evidence regarding the matter.