Core Viewpoint - Protecting intellectual property is essential for fostering innovation and encouraging companies to engage in long-term, high-risk deep technology research [20]. Group 1: Case Overview - A significant intellectual property theft case in China's semiconductor industry concluded with a ruling by the Shanghai Third Intermediate People's Court, which found Zunpai Communications Technology (Nanjing) Co., Ltd. guilty of infringing Huawei's trade secrets [2][3]. - The court sentenced Zhang Kun, the founder of Zunpai and former director at Huawei HiSilicon, to six years in prison and a fine of 3 million RMB, along with a five-year ban from the chip industry [7][19]. Group 2: Methods of Theft - The case revealed alarming tactics used by criminals, including "team-style poaching" and collusion to steal confidential information, with some employees working at Huawei during the day and at Zunpai at night [3][6]. - The theft involved a systematic approach where former Huawei employees were incentivized to join Zunpai, leading to the illegal acquisition of critical Wi-Fi 6 chip technology [14][15]. Group 3: Legal Proceedings and Findings - Following extensive investigations, the Shanghai police arrested 14 suspects and seized seven servers containing stolen technology [6][17]. - A judicial appraisal indicated that up to 40 core technology points in Zunpai's infringing chip technology had over 90% similarity to Huawei's trade secrets, highlighting the severity of the infringement [17][18]. Group 4: Implications for the Industry - The ruling serves as a landmark event for strengthening intellectual property protection and promoting fair competition in the technology sector, emphasizing the need for robust legal frameworks to support innovation [3][20]. - Huawei's commitment to R&D, with over 10% of its sales revenue invested annually, underscores the importance of safeguarding intellectual property as a means to protect substantial investments and maintain competitive advantage [20].
尊湃窃密大案落槌:保护知识产权,守卫科技创新
经济观察报·2025-08-13 10:12