News & Analysis
Comment
nyh20028319
harpat
The punishment would be meaningless if they are treated royally in jail with ...
China sends iPad design thieves to jail
Peter Clarke
6/17/2011 9:35 AM EDT
LONDON – A court in Shenzhen, China, has sentenced three people to jail for stealing design details of Apple's iPad2 tablet computer from the contract manufacturer Foxconn, according to reports.
The theft, which occurred in 2010, meant that counterfeit versions of the iPad2 went on sale in China before Apple had launched the product, an AFP report said citing Guangzhou Daily at its source.
The court sentenced Xiao Chengsong, the legal agent of Maita Electronics, to 18 months in prison and fined him 150,000 yuan (about $23,000), the AFP report states. Xiao paid 200,000 yuan (about $31,000) for design details, the report alleges.
Two Foxconn employees who sold the details were also convicted. Lin Kecheng, was sentenced to 14 months in jail and fined 100,000 yuan (about $15,500) and Hou Pengna was given a one-year jail term and fined 30,000 yuan (about $4,600).
Related links and articles:
Man charged with stealing trade secrets
Court finds for AWR over ZTE in piracy case
EDA vendor sues China's ZTE, alleges software piracy
|
|
|
|
|
Navigate to related information
Warren
6/17/2011 1:47 PM EDT
Sounds like the work of a country serious about protecting IP. The fines and prison time seem consistent with the one example I could find quickly (a tech manager stealing secrets from Valspar in 2010). Can China rehabilitate its reputation and is this a general trend or more about protecting Foxconn?
Sign in to Reply
goafrit
6/17/2011 8:21 PM EDT
China moving forward. This is commendable. Unfortunately, they will be out in few days.
Sign in to Reply
t.alex
6/18/2011 9:25 PM EDT
This is a suprised move.
Sign in to Reply
Los Angeles Iphone Developers
6/19/2011 6:27 AM EDT
The sentenced seems to lenient. It should be longer. Thieves like them should have been taught their lessons.
http://www.squidoo.com/los-angeles-iphone-developers
Sign in to Reply
Warren
6/21/2011 3:42 PM EDT
How about siting examples of sentences you think are satisfactory? For instance, in my post I reference a searchable case in the US that I believe points out that the sentence is not unusual. I'll provide a direct link here to make things easier... and I'll try and keep my link from being a self-promotion. http://www.durabilityanddesign.com/news/?fuseaction=view&id=4761
Sign in to Reply
Daniel Payne
6/20/2011 3:20 PM EDT
This light sentencing was a farce. White collar crime in China pays quite well and this type of legal precedent will continue to encourage Chinese workers to illegally sell IP to the highest bidder with little downside.
Sign in to Reply
Warren
6/21/2011 3:43 PM EDT
How about siting examples of sentences you think are satisfactory?
Sign in to Reply
elipsett
6/24/2011 1:14 AM EDT
How about "citing" examples of sentence you think are satisfactory, instead?
Sign in to Reply
JackB
6/24/2011 7:47 AM EDT
It's not just "siting" but "seems to lenient" too. A sad reflection on American "inginears". We can't complain about management not listening to us if we can't look informed when writing to them.
Writing well means never having to say, 'I guess you had to be there.' --Jef Mallett, Frazz, 07-29-07
Sign in to Reply
harpat
7/11/2011 8:04 PM EDT
The punishment would be meaningless if they are treated royally in jail with generous visitation rights etc. We don't know what may be happening behind the scenes.
Sign in to Reply
nyh20028319
4/10/2013 5:43 AM EDT
Chinese engineers struggle for a life in shenzhen.
Can't buy a small room in shenzhen working for a life.
The government don't do something about price reduction of real state rather than send three engineers to jail.
Sign in to Reply