West Yorkshire Police loses ‘copy data’ case over mobile phones

A YORKSHIRE police force accused of creating software to analyse mobile phones after “copying” data developed by a specialist firm “misused confidential information”, a High Court judge ruled today.

Mr Justice Arnold said specialist firm Forensic Telecommunications Services (FTS) - which is based in Sevenoaks, Kent, and extracts data from mobile phones - had succeeded in a “breach of confidence” claim against West Yorkshire Police.

FTS took legal action against the force - and ex-detective constable Stephen Hirst - claiming that data had been “appropriated” and its copyright or “database right” had been infringed.

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Staff became “suspicious” about West Yorkshire Police after a manager discussed a terrorist investigation with a detective, the judge was told during a hearing in London in October.

Lawyers for FTS told the judge that in spring 2006 company bosses became aware that West Yorkshire Police had tried and failed to develop software with the “same functionality” as FTS software.

By summer 2006 the force had developed an application “for the extraction, analysis and presentation of data from mobile telephones”, added lawyers.

They said there were “striking similarities” between the police programme and the FTS software which could not “be explained by mere coincidence”.

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The force denied infringing copyright. A lawyer representing police told Mr Justice Arnold that senior officers disputed that there had been “extraction or utilisation”.

Mr Justice Arnold today said FTS had been “successful overall” in its claim.

He made no damages order.

FTS said afterwards that it “welcomes” the judgment “that has found West Yorkshire Police liable”.

The firm said it had “resorted” to legal action to “protect its confidential information and intellectual property” and believed that problems had been caused by the force’s high-tech unit in 2006 and 2007.

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A spokesman said the ruling “brought to a close” a five-year dispute with the force.

“It was with great reluctance that (we) resorted to legal action,” said the spokesman. “(We) sought repeatedly to bring this matter to an amicable resolution.” He added: “(We wish) to draw a line under the case and move forward.”

Mr Hirst had said a member of the security services gave him information on a Post-It note during a counter-terrorism operation, the judge was told.

The note given to Mr Hirst - who worked for West Yorkshire Police’s hi-tech crime unit - five years ago, while Operation Praline was going on, had “since been thrown away”, Mr Justice Arnold heard.

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At around the same time Mr Hirst said that “MI5 had been up in their office”, during a meeting at a pub called the Rhubarb Triangle in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, the court was told.

Anna Edwards-Stuart, for FTS, told the judge, that there was a “strong prima facie case of copyright infringement”.

She said lists of information belonging to West Yorkshire Police were “near-identical copies” of FTS material.

The similarities were such that copying could be inferred, said Miss Edwards-Stuart.

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She told the judge that FTS was “in the business of extracting and analysing data... from devices such as mobile phones”.

Miss Edwards-Stuart said the data was often relied on in criminal prosecutions and had been “particularly important in the ongoing battle against terrorism”.

She said the security services were licensed users of FTS software.

Miss Edwards-Stuart said that in November 2006 a member of FTS staff was informed by a senior officer at West Yorkshire Police that “his department had received credible information to the effect that (the force) had ‘stolen’ (an) FTS application”.

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“On June 9 2006 various members of the security services arrived at (West Yorkshire Police’s) hi-tech crime unit to embark on a counter-terrorism operation code-named Operation Praline,” said Miss Edwards-Stuart.

“Dozens of mobile phones were seized as part of Operation Praline and the security services were there to analyse those phones as part of that operation.

“The security service carried out this work using FTS proprietary software.”

She added: “Mr Hirst has admitted that during the course of Operation Praline he was given ‘three or four... numbers on a Post-It note’ by one of the officers from the security services.

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“Mr Hirst says the officer did not say where the numbers had come from... the original Post-It note has since been thrown away.”

Miss Edwards-Stuart also referred to a meeting at a pub called the Rhubarb Triangle in Wakefield in about August 2006 where Mr Hirst said that MI5 had been up in their office and been using a programme developed by FTS.

She said there were “extensive similarities” between West Yorkshire Police material and FTS material.

“It is overwhelmingly likely that Mr Hirst had access to more than a Post-It note,” said Miss Edwards-Stuart.

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“FTS contend that, with or without the consent of the security service officer, Mr Hirst had access to (an) entire FTS... list and copied it (or at least a substantial part of it) creating (a West Yorkshire Police) list.”

Jonathan Hill, for West Yorkshire Police and Mr Hirst, had told the court that FTS had made allegations based on “speculation and hearsay”.

He said: “The defendants deny copying and aver that the data that they have themselves used was compiled collaboratively by workers in the field of mobile phone forensics (including themselves).”

Mr Hill said the force conceded that a “member of the security service” had provided Mr Hirst with “three or four pairs of addresses written on a Post-It note” and it was possible that the information came from FTS manuals.

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He said police had “never knowingly taken anything” but it was theoretically possible that they had unwittingly infringed.

“Prior to this dispute, FTS had an excellent working relationship with West Yorkshire Police, supporting investigations into such high-profile cases as the murder of (policewoman) Sharon Beshenivsky and the wounding of Pc Teresa Milburn,” added the FTS spokesman, after the hearing.

“FTS firmly believe that West Yorkshire Police has a justified reputation as one of the leading UK forces for criminal investigations.”