Hytera Pleads Guilty to Felony for Conspiring to Steal Trade Secret Information from Motorola Solutions in U.S. Department of Justice Prosecution

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Hytera Communications Corporation Limited (SHE: 002583) has entered a felony guilty plea and executed a Plea Agreement to address the U.S. Department of Justice’s criminal prosecution of Hytera for misappropriation and theft of confidential trade secrets and proprietary information belonging to Motorola Solutions (NYSE: MSI). In pleading guilty to felony conspiracy charges, Hytera admitted that it knowingly agreed to take, without authorization, Motorola Solutions documents and source code related to DMR technology, and that it used that information to develop Hytera DMR products.

“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,” said Greg Brown, chairman and CEO, Motorola Solutions. “I appreciate the Department of Justice for its diligence in pursuing this matter. This case is critical validation that our government is fully committed to prosecuting criminals who steal from American companies. We will continue to vigorously defend our valuable intellectual property and trade secrets for the benefit of our company, our customers and our shareholders.”

In 2021, the U.S. Department of Justice filed felony charges against Hytera and seven of its employees, including former executive Gee Siong (G.S.) Kok. The federal grand jury indictment included 21 counts of federal criminal trade secret violations, including engaging in a decade-long criminal conspiracy to steal and use Motorola Solutions’ trade secrets and proprietary information. Mr. Kok pled guilty in 2023 and is awaiting sentencing; the other six Hytera employees are currently at large.

Under the terms of the Plea Agreement, Hytera is expected to be sentenced in November 2025, at which time the U.S. District Court is expected to order Hytera to pay restitution to Motorola Solutions and a criminal fine to the U.S. Government.

Hytera’s guilty plea does not resolve Motorola Solutions' ongoing civil litigation against Hytera. Motorola Solutions is continuing to pursue collection of the more than $471 million judgment already awarded to it in its trade secret and copyright infringement litigation against Hytera in the United States, as well as injunctive and other relief to address Hytera's misconduct.

For additional information regarding Motorola Solutions' legal actions against Hytera, please visit Motorola Solutions’ dedicated newsroom here.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of applicable federal securities law. These statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and generally include words such as “believes,” “expects,” “intends,” “anticipates,” “estimates” and similar expressions. The company can give no assurance that any actual or future results or events discussed in these statements will be achieved. Any forward-looking statements represent the company’s views only as of today and should not be relied upon as representing the company’s views as of any subsequent date. Readers are cautioned that such forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties that could cause the company’s actual results or events discussed in these statements to differ materially from the statements contained in this release. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the expected timing of proceedings related to the Hytera litigation. Motorola Solutions cautions the reader that the risks and uncertainties in Part I Item 1A of Motorola Solutions’ 2023 Annual Report on Form 10-K and in its other SEC filings available for free on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov and on Motorola Solutions’ website at www.motorolasolutions.com, could cause Motorola Solutions’ actual results or events discussed in these statements to differ materially from those estimated or predicted in the forward-looking statements. Many of these risks and uncertainties cannot be controlled by Motorola Solutions. Motorola Solutions undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

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