A suit between Hewlett-Packard and three Chinese nationals accused of selling fake H-P gear revealed a wild tale of international fraud, time in jail, and conspiracy. — Tan Kit Hoong/The Star
When three Chinese nationals were jailed in Beijing almost a decade ago and accused of selling fake Hewlett-Packard Co. networking gear, it looked like an example of US companies getting what they’d long demanded: aggressive protection of intellectual property in the world’s most populous nation.
A drawn-out court case heading to trial in Massachusetts paints a much muddier picture. The three, exonerated in China, accuse the former Silicon Valley icon of setting them up. They argue that it was H-P units that conspired to sell counterfeit gear, and then pinned the blame on them.
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