Huawei! We're Suing Motorola!

Here’s a sinister little walk-up to the Motorolae’s first earnings report this week. Huawei Technologies is suing Motorola Mobility and Motorola Solutions, seeking to prevent them from transferring its intellectual property to Nokia Siemens, which purchased Motorola’s wireless network business last year for $1.2 billion. Evidently there’s some IP involved in the deal that Huawei would rather not see end up in the hands of its rival.

“Such a transfer, if consummated in its originally contemplated form, will result in the massive disclosure of Huawei’s confidential information to NSN, with irreparable harm to Huawei,” the company claims in its suit. “A large number of Motorola employees, many carrying direct knowledge of Huawei’s confidential information, would become employees of NSN. Huawei hereby sues to obtain preliminary injunctive relief to prevent such harm pending an arbitration under the agreements.”

An unfortunate turn of events for the Motorolae, whose newfound individuality is at least partially the result of the Nokia Siemens deal. Ironic, too, considering Motorola sued Huawei for corporate espionage last year.