Motorola Solutions, Inc & Anor v Hytera Communications Corporation Ltd & Ors
| Judge | Mr Justice Calver |
| Neutral Citation | [2024] EWHC 2891 (Comm) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Court | King's Bench Division |
| Counsel | Tom Sprange Kc,Kabir Bhalla,Stephen Rubin Kc,Alexander Milner Kc,Leah Gardner |
| Date | 14 November 2024 |
Footnote 4 corrected paragraph 4 of this judgment pursuant to CPR 40.12
Neutral Citation Number: [2024] EWHC 2891 (Comm)
Case No: CL-2022-000219
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE
KING'S BENCH DIVISION
BUSINESS AND PROPERTY COURTS OF ENGLAND AND WALES
COMMERCIAL COURT
Royal Courts of Justice, Rolls Building
Fetter Lane, London, EC4A 1NL
Date: 14/11/2024
Before :
MR JUSTICE CALVER
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Between :
(1) MOTOROLA SOLUTIONS, INC
(2) MOTOROLA SOLUTIONS MALAYSIA SDN BHD
Claimants
- and -
(1) HYTERA COMMUNICATIONS CORPORATION LTD
(2) HYTERA AMERICA, INC
(3) HYTERA COMMUNICATIONS AMERICA (WEST), INC
Defendants
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Tom Sprange KC and Kabir Bhalla (instructed byKing & Spalding International LLP) for
the Claimants
Stephen Rubin KC, Alexander Milner KC and Leah Gardner (instructed by Steptoe
International (UK) LLP) for the FirstDefendant
Hearing dates: 4-5 November 2024
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JUDGMENT
This judgment was handed down by the Judge remotely by circulation to the
parties' representatives by email and release to The National Archives. The date
and time for hand-down is deemed to be 10:00 on Thursday 14 November 2024.
Judgment Approved by the court for handing downMotorola and another v Hytera and others
Mr Justice Calver :
Subject matter of this trial
1.On 4 and 5 November 2024 this court heard the trial of the Claimant (“Motorola”)’s
claim to enforce at common law parts of a judgment of the US District Court for the
Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division (the “Illinois Court”), dated 8 January
2021 (the “US Judgment”). The US Judgment was entered after a trial before a jury at
which the First Defendant (“HCC”) and two of its subsidiaries (collectively “Hytera”)
were found liable to Motorola for serious breaches of two US statutes – the Copyright
Act, and the Defend Trade Secrets Act (“DTSA”).
2.HCC is a company incorporated and headquartered in China. It was founded in 1993
and is a developer and manufacturer of two-way radio equipment and related
technology. Motorola is also a major player in the radio technology industry and is a
competitor of HCC. Motorola is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.
3.Following various further orders made by the Illinois Court post-trial, the US Judgment
is made up of a number of different components, namely:
(1)Compensatory damages of $136.3 million under the Copyright Act;
(2)Compensatory damages of $135.8 million under the DTSA;
(3)Punitive damages under the DTSA of $271.6 million (i.e. double the
compensatory damages awarded under that statute);
(4)$51,128,975 in pre-judgment interest;
(5)$34,244,385.50 in attorney fees (i.e. costs);
(6)$2,674,631.36 in “costs” (i.e. disbursements); and
(7)post-judgment interest, which Motorola quantifies in the sum of either
$618,042.29 or $374,922.51.
4.Of the above seven elements, only the last four (totalling some $73 million1) are the
subject of this trial.
5.So far as the other three elements are concerned, the Copyright Act damages ($136.3
million) are already the subject of an English judgment in favour of Motorola which was
entered by consent on 9 November 2023. The English judgment was stayed by order of
Jacobs J pending an appeal by Hytera against the US Judgment to the US Court of
Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (“the Seventh Circuit Court”). That appealwas
successful in part and HCC has therefore made an application to set aside the English
judgment: that application has been listed for January 2025.
6.The other two elements are the (i) compensatory damages ($135.8 million) under the
DTSA and (ii) punitive or exemplary damages ($271.6 million) under the DTSA.
7.So far as the punitive damages element of the DTSA claim is concerned, the relevant
US statute, 18 U.S.C. section 1836(b)(3), provides as follows:
“(3) Remedies. In a civil action brought under this subsection
with respect to the misappropriation of a trade secret, a court
may –
…
1 after deducting $14.9 million that Motorola has recovered in separate bankruptcy proceedings
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