Motorola Claims Chinese Rival Had a Double Agent Steal Its Trade Secrets
- U.S. firm says China rival used data to develop walkie-talkies
- Engineers were ‘bad apples’ but did no major harm, Hytera says
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Motorola Solutions Inc. told a judge in Chicago that a former employee worked as a double agent who helped Chinese rival Hytera Communications Corp. play catch-up on digital-radio technology for walkie-talkies.
It took decades for Motorola to develop next-generation devices for two-way communication, and Hytera “came along and just took it all,” attorney Adam Alper said Thursday at the start of a trial over the U.S. company’s claim of trade-secret theft. The employee, one of three Motorola engineers hired by Hytera in 2008, downloaded thousands of proprietary documents while still working for Motorola, he said.