Quintel Technology Ltd. is a U.S. and U.K.-based supplier of antenna technology. This technology improves reception between cell phones and antennas on cell towers. Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. engaged Quintel in 2009 to acquire its antenna technology. However, Huawei's engagement with Quintel was just a cover to understand Quintel's technology and steal it.
In 2009, Huawei expressed interest in Quintel's antenna technology [1]. Wanting to know more, Huawei executed a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) with Quintel in September 2009. This agreement prevented Huawei from using any disclosed technology for its own benefit or to Quintel's disadvantage. The NDA enabled Quintel to have technical discussions with Huawei while protecting its intellectual property (at least in principle).
Subsequently, Quintel made a presentation of its technology to Huawei. After the presentation, several Huawei engineers requested additional detail from Quintel on its technology. Quintel answered these technical questions [2], assuming that it was protected by the NDA.
Zhengxiang Ma, a Huawei employee, coordinated the engagement between Huawei and Quintel. As the technical exchange progressed, Ma repeatedly urged Quintel to be patient in its dealings with Huawei [3].
Ultimately, the technical decisions did not lead to a business arrangement, and Quintel disengaged from Huawei.
On October 30, 2009, while the discussions with Quintel were ongoing, Ma filed a provisional patent using ideas from Quintel's presentation and the subsequent technical exchange with Huawei's engineers. The thought was that if Huawei filed the provisional patent application ahead of Quintel, it would establish priority with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on Quintel's technology [4].
On October 29, 2010, Ma filed a patent application with the USPTO, following the 2009 provisional application. The USPTO approved this patent application on November 18, 2014, and patent number 8,891,647 was granted to Ma. Ma assigned the patent to Huawei [4], [5].
Quintel remained unaware of Ma's patent applications till March 2015. The matter came to light only when Quintel's own patent application in Europe was rejected. The European Patent Agency cited Huawei's U.S. patent as prior art in rejecting Quintel's application [4].
In its Quintel play, first, Huawei dangled a business deal in front of the smaller vendor that had specific advanced technology. Second, Huawei tricked Quintel into revealing more about its technology by asking technical questions while elongating business discussions. Finally, Huawei let the business deal fade away once it knew enough about Quintel's technology - enough to file a provisional patent application based on the technology.
[1]: Why do Huawei's "inventions" look oddly familiar? Heather Zeiger. Mind Matters. February 9, 2021.
[2]: Superseding Indictment. Case 1:18-cr-00457-AMD. The United States Eastern District Court. February 23, 2020.
[3]: Quintel Technology Ltd. v. Huawei Technologies USA, Inc. et al., No 4:2015cv00307 - Document 42. United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. September 27, 2016.
[4]: United States Patent No. 8,891,647. Zhengxiang Ma (Huawei). November 18, 2014.
Copyright © 2021 r-dube. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.