T-Mobile sues Huawei for stealing parts from its phone testing robots

T-mobile USA is taking Huawei to court over the alleged theft of components and software for a phone testing robot called 'Tappy'. According to the Seattle Times, the network provider claims that members of Huawei's staff illegally took photos of the testing gear, and then proceeded to steal the actual components from T-Mobile's lab.

The lawsuit, which was filed on 2nd September in federal court in Seattle, states that T-Mobile Huawei's employees illicitly photographed Tappy, then tried to smuggle components out of T-Mobile’s Bellevue lab and, when banned from the facility, tried to sneak back in.

Huawei, which is no longer a T-Mobile phone supplier, utilized the information to build its own testing robot, and now is “using T-Mobile’s stolen robot technology to test non-T-Mobile handsets and improve return rates for handsets developed and sold to other carriers,” says the suit.

A Huawei spokesman has apparently acknowledged some inappropriate actions by two company employees and states that they have been fired. Huawei rejects the broader claims in the suit, however.

Source: Seattle Times

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