Hytera Communications still owes Motorola Solutions more than US$200 million for using stolen DMR trade secrets, amid pending civil and criminal litigation
By Donny Jackson,Editor, Urgent Communications
Hytera Communications has paid Motorola Solutions at least US$197 million toward a 2020 civil award for using stolen DMR trade secrets, but the China-based LMR manufacturer still owes more than US$200 million for that case and is “expected” to receive its criminal sentencing on March 5, according to a Motorola Solutions annual report.
Hytera Communications filed multiple legal briefs with the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois that indicate Hytera made payments during the past 14 months on money owed to Motorola Solutions as a result of a 2020 judgment in the trade-secret civil case, but the amount of those payments have been redacted in public versions of the brief. However, Motorola Solutions 10-K annual report filing last week with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) provides greater details about the status of both the civil and criminal cases involving Hytera Communications.
In the criminal case brought by the US Department of Justice (DoJ), Hytera Communications pleaded guilty in January 2025 to a federal felony count of conspiracy to steal Motorola trade secrets.
“On November 24-25, December 15, 2025, and January 29, 2026, the District Court held hearings related to Hytera’s [criminal] sentencing,” the Motorola Solutions annual report states. “The District Court is expected to issue its ruling on March 5, 2026.
“Pursuant to the plea agreement reached between Hytera and the government, it is expected that Hytera’s sentence may include a fine to be paid to the government and restitution to be paid to [Motorola Solutions] in an amount to be determined by the District Court.”
Indeed, the DoJ proposed to the district court that Hytera Communications should pay a US$60 million fine to the US government and US$290.3 million in restitution to Motorola Solutions. Attorneys representing Hytera recommended that the fine to the government be between US$98,000 and US$196,000, and that no criminal restitution is necessary, because Hytera Communications “has already been punished far beyond any possible gain it obtained … or any loss that Motorola possibly suffered.”
As part of the 2020 civil case, a federal appeals court in July 2024 affirmed a district-court ruling that Hytera must pay Motorola Solutions US$407.4 million in damages under the Defend Trade Secrets Act, according to the Motorola Solutions annual report. The appeals court also upheld the district court’s determination that Hytera Communications must pay pre-judgment interest, court costs, and attorneys’ fees—a total of US$88.9 million, based on the district-court calculation of US$543.7 million for in overall damages and fees.
But that district-court total will decrease, as the appeals court ordered the district court to “recalculate and reduce” the US$136.3 million awarded for copyright infringement.
“The issues of copyright recalculation, turnover of Hytera assets to the Company, and injunction are currently briefed,” Motorola Solutions’ annual report states. “On October 14-15, 2025, the District Court held hearings on these issues, but has not yet issued any rulings.”
After the US Supreme Court declined to hear the civil case in February 2025, Hytera Communications has made several payments toward the amount it owes Motorola Solutions as a result of losing the 2020 civil case.
“In 2025, Hytera made payments of US$157 million, of which [Motorola Solutions] received US$141 million, net of withholding taxes,” according to the Motorola Solutions’ SEC filing. “Subsequent to year-end, in January 2026, Hytera made a payment of US$40 million, of which [Motorola Solutions] received US$36 million, net of withholding taxes.”
With this US$197 million paid, Hytera Communications still owes more than US$250 million to Motorola Solutions in the civil case, with the US$136.3 million for the copyright-infringement portion of the damages still awaiting a judicial decision.
Meanwhile, Hytera Communications also has been ordered by the district court to pay royalties to Motorola Solutions on sales of products that use the stolen trade secrets. In 2024, US$61 million in royalty payments related to Hytera’s I-series products were released to Motorola Solutions, and Hytera “made quarterly de minimis royalty payments” directly to Motorola Solutions in 2025, according to the Motorola Solutions annual report.
These royalty payments decreased dramatically, in large part because Hytera Communications has focused on selling its H-Series DMR product, which Hytera officials have claimed do not use any of the stolen trade secrets that have been the subject of the civil case. However, the district-court judge disagreed, declaring Hytera Communication in civil contempt and ordering Hytera Communications to pay US$101 million in royalties on H-Series products sold through Aug. 25, 2025—a ruling that China-based DMR manufacturer is contesting.
“Hytera has appealed the District Court’s order to the Court of Appeals,” according to the Motorola Solutions 10-K report.
“Hytera’s appeal does not automatically stay its obligation to pay the US$101 million. On October 14-15, 2025, the District Court heard arguments on whether Hytera must pay the US$101 million into escrow, or directly to [Motorola Solutions] as a payment towards amounts awarded to the [Motorola Solutions] and owed by Hytera pursuant to prior court orders, but has not yet issued a ruling.”
If the district court’s ruling about the Hytera H-Series DMR products being subject to royalties is upheld throughout any appeals process, Hytera Communications likely would have to pay royalties on those products in the future. Such a finding could prove to be troublesome for Hytera Communications, which previously has filed legal briefs stating that paying the court-mandated royalties on DMR products resulted in a significant negative impact on the profitability of those products.
