In brief: Huawei has regularly tried to steal Apple IP, report claims

As US companies grow more concerned about efforts by Chinese firms to obtain their intellectual property, all eyes are on Huawei, which the US government recently accused of stealing trade secrets. New reporting by The Information sheds light on Huawei’s tactics, which often have been aimed at one of the company’s chief competitors – Apple.

Source: The Information

According to the report, Huawei’s attempts to misappropriate Apple trade secrets include talking to former employees of the Californian company and its supply chain partners. In one reported case, a person was interviewed for a role with Huawei right after leaving Apple, but were only asked about the US firm’s upcoming products.

In November, a Huawei engineer reportedly offered a manufacturing contract to a supplier that builds parts for Apple Watch. But on meeting with the supplier, the engineer simply asked questions about the production of the wearable device. On being told that information couldn’t be shared, Huawei cut off contact with the supplier.

Another source told The Information that Huawei effectively copied a laptop connector design by sending Apple schematics to a range of prospective suppliers, most of which refused to build the component on recognizing it as Apple’s.

The US Department of Justice has claimed that Huawei pays employees for stealing data, with information of a more confidential nature attracting higher rewards. Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou – who is the daughter of the Chinese company’s founder, Ren Zhengfei – is being detained in Canada following her arrest last December at US’ request for allegedly breaking economic sanctions against Iran.