Motorola Solutions, Lemko settle trade secret dispute

SCHAUMBURG — Motorola Solutions Inc. and Lemko Corp. agreed to end their trade-secrets dispute.

Motorola Solutions had sued Lemko in federal court in Chicago, while Lemko had filed claims in federal and state court in Illinois, according to a statement today on Motorola Solutions’ website.

“We have resolved our differences in the litigation amicably,” a Motorola Solutions’ spokesperson said in a statement.

The claims were dismissed with prejudice, according to the statement.

“We are pleased, with the resolution of these cases, that Lemko can now focus all of our energies to growing our business by providing our customers with innovative communications solutions,” said Lemko CEO Nicholas Labun.

The lawsuits involved allegations of each stealing trade secrets from the other, and include a corporate espionage case involving Chinese-born Motorola engineer Hanjuan Jin, who was arrested at O’Hare International Airport in 2007 carrying 1,000 documents she had downloaded from her Motorola office.

In 2011, when the espionage case went to trial in federal court, Lemko, a broadband systems maker, along with its owners Labun of Chicago and Shaowei Pan of Kildeer, filed suit against Motorola Solutions in Cook County circuit court, claiming “abuse of process, unfair competition and tortious interference with business relations and prospective economic advantage.” Lemko claimed that despite so-called efforts by Motorola to tie Lemko to the Jin case, or to a Chinese spy effort, related to intellectual property, it has yet to provide proof, along with other allegations.

According to the lawsuit, Motorola subpoenaed about 60 Lemko customers, suppliers and potential investors in discovery efforts, and only succeeded in causing losses of business for Lemko.

Daily Herald wire services contributed to this report