China's Hytera pleads guilty to stealing Motorola Solutions radio technology

Motorola Solutions

14/01/2025 20:47

By Blake Brittain
       Jan 14 (Reuters) - Chinese telecommunications company
Hytera Communications  002583.SZ  has pleaded guilty in Illinois
federal court to stealing Motorola Solutions  MSI.N  trade
secrets covering digital mobile radio technology, the U.S.
Attorney's Office in Chicago said on Tuesday.
    According to a court filing, Hytera will be fined a maximum
of $60 million under the plea agreement and must separately pay
Motorola Solutions restitution for the theft. 
    Hytera's sentencing is scheduled for November.
    The deal follows a $764 million verdict for Motorola
Solutions in a related civil case against Hytera in 2020, which
a U.S. appeals court later lowered to $407 million. 
    Spokespeople for Hytera did not immediately respond to a
request for comment on the agreement.
    "Hytera's admission of guilt in federal court validates the
extensive evidence that it is a bad actor and felon, and we
remain firmly resolute to holding Hytera accountable for its
egregious illegal conduct," Motorola Solutions CEO Greg Brown
said in a statement.
    Chicago-based Motorola Solutions sued Hytera in 2017 for
misappropriating trade secrets and infringing copyrights related
to its two-way radios. The U.S. Department of Justice indicted
Hytera and seven of its employees in 2022 on related charges of
stealing proprietary information about the radios.
    The indictment said Hytera recruited Motorola employees in
Malaysia from 2007 through 2020 to steal the trade secrets.
Hytera denied the allegations following the indictment.
    The case is United States v. Hytera Communications Corp,
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, No.
1:20-cr-00688.
    For Hytera: Boyd Cloern, Rachel Cannon and Christopher
Niewoehner of Steptoe LLP
    
    Read more: 
    Motorola wins $764.6 mln in damages against Hytera
Communications
    U.S. charges China's Hytera with conspiring with ex-Motorola
staff to steal technology

 (Reporting by Blake Brittain in Washington)
 ((blake.brittain@tr.com; +1 (202) 938-5713))