Motorola sues Huawei over alleged trade secrets theft

Claims Huawei CEO knowingly received stolen information.

Motorola has filed a complaint in a Chicago federal court accusing Chinese mobile firm Huawei of knowingly receiving stolen information from a Motorola employee.

The company has alleged that a former engineer had emailed Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei with information about a new transceiver and other technologies, and claimed that it has emails proving that the dialogue took place.

The complaint is an amendment to a suit filed in 2008 in which Motorola sued five former employees for allegedly sharing trade secrets with Lemko, a reseller for Huawei.

In a statement, Motorola said that it would "vigorously protect" its intellectual property, and confirmed that it is still committed to operating in the Chinese market.

"Motorola has a long-term commitment to China and has developed deep relationships with local partners, including government, customers, suppliers, distributors and more," the firm said.

"We look forward to continue developing relationships in China, and to resolving this dispute."

Huawei reacted swiftly to dismiss the accusations, calling them "groundless and utterly without merit".

"Huawei will vigorously defend itself against baseless allegations. Moreover, as an active and significant player in global standards-setting bodies, Huawei has great respect for the rights of intellectual property holders," the company said in a statement.

The firm also distanced itself from Lemko, noting that it "has no relationship with Lemko, other than a reseller agreement".

Mobile technologies are increasingly the subject of litigation. Apple and Nokia are locked in a patent suit, while RIM and Motorola recently settled a long-running legal dispute.