27 March 2019

Hytera claims its customers and end users “remain completely untouched” following a German district court’s ruling as part of the long running patents dispute with Motorola Solutions.

In late November 2018, the Düsseldorf regional court ruled in the first instance that a combination of functions that could previously be selected for certain Hytera DMR radios in connection with direct mode communication violated a Motorola patent that is valid in Germany.

Speaking right after the verdict, Matthias Klausing, CEO of Hytera’s German subsidiary, Mobilfunk, said: “We respect the decision of the district court, but we are still firmly convinced that we in no way violate an existing patent and will therefore appeal.”

Hytera claims that in early September 2018, following the release of software release (9.0) for its entire DMR product portfolio, it had already removed the features complained about by Motorola.

Furthermore, Hytera says it added more than 20 “new and innovative” functions to its radio devices, repeaters and DMR system technology. Therefore, thanks to the court decision and the long runnin patents dispute with Motorola, Hytera brazenly claims its products now benefit from new features and “even better performance”.

In an online statement released on its website on 29 November 2018, Motorola Solutions said Hytera should provide open communications with customers and dealers regarding the previous ruling from the US International Trade Commission (also see Wireless Business, Jun-Jul 2018). “The numerous court rulings across the globe have confirmed that Hytera is a serial infringer of Motorola Solutions’ intellectual property,” claimed Mark Hacker, general counsel and chief administrative officer, Motorola Solutions.

Citing an unidentified source, Hacker continued by saying that it had been reported in a recent interview that Hytera admitted its new i-Series will lack important features available on Motorola devices. “While Hytera has stated that the features are ‘minor,’ we believe [it] is deliberately misleading its own customers and distributors as our patented technologies provide important benefits that vastly improve performance.”

Hacker also added that Hytera’s contention that its i-Series has been broadly cleared by the trade commission is not supported by the organisation’s public materials. “Hytera has been fighting hard in court to keep as much as possible of the ITC’s rulings redacted and secret, and we urge Hytera to permit the rulings to be made public,” stated Hacker. “Dealers and customers deserve the right to make informed decisions about the risks they run in purchasing products lacking the critical functionalities covered by Motorola’s patents, and in doing business with a company that has engaged in intentional copying, infringement and misappropriation.”