HTC personnel in Taiwan detained on allegations of trade secret theft
Technology // Taiwan
The country’s authorities questioned four research and development employees after the smartphone maker claimed some of its intellectual property was breached.
Two workers were detained while the others were released on bail.
The company had filed complaints to the Ministry of Justice’s Investigation Bureau, accusing personnel of leaking commercial secrets and using fake receipts to seek reimbursement. Investigators searched HTC offices and the employees’ homes on Aug. 30.
Richard Ko, an analyst at KGI Securities Co. in Taipei, said to clients that the “investigation and detention of HTC’s key R&D executives will have damaging impact on its new model roll-out in the next 6 months.”
HTC said its operations weren’t affected and its fourth quarter products are on schedule.
The company didn’t specify what secrets were involved in the alleged incident.
Bloomberg reports: “The company has revamped marketing strategy and shuffled executives to rebuild the brand after its global ranking in smartphones fell to ninth.”
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