I shouldn’t have been surprised by the news that the US is attacking Huawei’s systems. As Ed Snowden taught us, the US monitors an extraordinary section of the Internet.
The Huawei statement below describes in colorful terms the pressure and harassment of Huawei employees and partners. It reads true. But I believe one comment about the U.S. to be inaccurate: “it has been using every tool at its disposal.”
I do not believe Huawei has been the object of missiles fired from U.S. drones. Nor have I seen any evidence of the work of CIA assassins, as documented in the Frank Church congressional hearings.
The WSJ, as noted below, seems to be doing sloppy journalism perhaps from targeted government leaks.
Media Statement Regarding Reported US DoJ Probes into Huawei
On August 30, 2019, the Wall Street Journal reported that the US Department of Justice probed Huawei on alleged theft of smartphone-camera patents. These allegations are false. Huawei would like to issue the following clarifications regarding these claims, as well as recent probes by the US government mentioned in the Wall Street Journal’s report:
On May 28, 2014, representatives from Huawei’s US subsidiary met with Mr. Rui Pedro Oliveira per his request. At the meeting, Mr. Oliveira pitched his camera design, which he alleged to have U.S. patent pending, to Huawei. Huawei was not interested in his product and no further contact was made.
Four years later, beginning in April 2018 and continuing through March 2019, Mr. Oliveira began e-mailing Huawei, claiming that the EnVizion360 camera, independently designed and developed by Huawei, had infringed his US patents. In his e-mails, he repeatedly issued threats, saying that if Huawei did not pay an extortionate amount of money, he would go to the media and exert pressure through political channels.
Huawei categorically rejects Mr. Oliveira’s claims of patent infringement, and has provided detailed documents in support of its stance (see visual comparisons of the two products below as example). Nevertheless, Mr. Oliveira proceeded to feed a false narrative to the media in an attempt to tarnish Huawei’s reputation. He made further efforts to exert pressure on Huawei through senior government officials, trying to make the company cede to his demands and hand over large sums of money.
On March 26, 2019, in order to defend the company’s reputation and protect its legitimate rights and interests, Huawei filed a complaint against Mr. Oliveira before US court for a declaration of non-infringement of Mr. Oliveira’s U.S. patents. This is a normal civil procedure. However, Mr. Oliveira declined to accept the service of Huawei’s complaint and summons, resulting in delaying of the court proceedings.
It’s clear that Mr. Oliveira is taking advantage of the current geopolitical situation. He is pushing a false narrative through the media in an attempt to capitalize on a dispute. This type of behavior should not be encouraged, nor should it be considered rational justification for a criminal investigation by the US Department of Justice.
For the past several months, the US government has been leveraging its political and diplomatic influence to lobby other governments to ban Huawei equipment. Furthermore, it has been using every tool at its disposal – including both judicial and administrative powers, as well as a host of other unscrupulous means – to disrupt the normal business operations of Huawei and its partners. These include:
Instructing law enforcement to threaten, menace, coerce, entice, and incite both current and former Huawei employees to turn against the company and work for them
Unlawfully searching, detaining, and even arresting Huawei employees and Huawei partners
Attempting entrapment, or pretending to be Huawei employees to establish legal pretense for unfounded accusations against the company
Launching cyber attacks to infiltrate Huawei’s intranet and internal information systems
Sending FBI agents to the homes of Huawei employees and pressuring them to collect information on the company
Mobilizing and conspiring with companies that work with Huawei, or have a business conflict with Huawei, to bring unsubstantiated accusations against the company
Launching investigations based on false media reports that target the company
Digging up old civil cases that have already been settled, and selectively launching criminal investigations or filing criminal charges against Huawei based on claims of technology theft
Obstructing normal business activities and technical communications through intimidation, denying visas, detaining shipment, etc
The fact remains that none of Huawei’s core technology has been the subject of any criminal case brought against the company, and none of the accusations levied by the US government have been supported with sufficient evidence. We strongly condemn the malign, concerted effort by the US government to discredit Huawei and curb its leadership position in the industry.
Huawei has invested heavily in R&D for more than 30 years. We have more than 180,000 hard-working employees around the globe. We have won the trust and support of our customers, suppliers, and partners.
This is the source of our company’s success. No company becomes a global leader in their field through theft.