Two former ZTE engineers, Surnamed Huang and Wang, were sentenced on suspicion of violating trade secrets in what was the country's first criminal case involving 5G technology infringement of intellectual property rights, according to the Nanfang Daily.
Huang worked at ZTE from 2002 to January 2017 as an RF engineer, wireless architect and other positions.
Wang worked at ZTE's Xi'an Research Institute from April 2008 to October 2016, where he worked as a R&D engineer in the RRU department.
In 2014, Huang accepted a technology outsourcing project for a research institute's 5G active antenna prototype and signed four contracts with the institute for a total amount of 2.35 million yuan, the report said.
It was Wang who was responsible for the launch of the project, and Huang delivered an active antenna prototype and related technical documentation to the Institute in stages.
After appraisal, the technical documents delivered by Wang belong to ZTE Corporation's private documents and are confidential technical information, with an assessed value of up to 4.3 million RMB.
In June 2019, the Procuratorate of Nanshan District of Shenzhen filed an indictment with the court against Huang and Wang for alleged infringement of trade secrets.
In December of the same year, Huang and Wang were convicted of violating trade secrets and both sentenced to three years' imprisonment, four years' probation and a fine of RMB 150,000. Both accused pleaded guilty to the charges and neither appealed.
In response to the case, ZTE said that Huang had contributed significantly to the company's development during his tenure and did not use ZTE's technology after leaving the company to start his own business, and that the company was willing to forgive Huang as long as he pleaded guilty and repented and compensated for his losses, the report said.
After negotiations, Huang and Wang eventually compensated ZTE for its losses and obtained an understanding from the company.
