China's Huawei, Motorola settle legal dispute over technology, secrets

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China's Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. and Motorola Solutions Inc. have agreed to settle a legal dispute over technology secrets, paving the way for Motorola to complete the sale of its unit to Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN).

Huawei and Motorola Solutions will drop suits against each other, with Motorola agreeing to pay an unspecified technology transfer fee to Huawei as part of the settlement, the two companies said in a joint statement on Wednesday.

According to the agreement, Huawei, China's largest telecommunications equipment manufacturer, will allow Motorola Solutions to transfer its commercial agreements with Huawei to NSN for a fee. NSN can receive and use confidential Huawei information on service networks Motorola has deployed.

Huawei filed a lawsuit against Motorola and NSN in January, claiming that Motorola had not provided any assurances it would prevent disclosures about Huawei technology to NSN. Motorola Solutions had sought an agreement to help finalize the sale to NSN, which was announced in July 2010.



Motorola, itself, sued Huawei in July of last year, alleging theft of trade secrets via former Motorola employees to Huawei in 2008.

"We regret that these disputes have occurred between our two companies. Motorola Solutions values the long-standing relationship we have had with Huawei," Greg Brown, President & CEO of Motorola Solutions, said in the statement.

In 2000, Motorola partnered with Huawei, enabling Motorola to resell certain Huawei products under the Motorola name. Over the next 10 years, Motorola purchased 880 million U.S. dollars in technology from Huawei that covered core networks and wireless access networks.

"Huawei acted properly and above board at all times and developed its products independently and without the use of any Motorola trade secrets," said Guo Ping, Vice Chairman of the Board and Executive Vice President of Huawei, in the statement.

"This is a great victory for Chinese enterprises over intellectual property rights," said Chen Jinqiao, secretary-general of a telecommunications experts panel with the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

The end of all pending litigation between Huawei and Motorola could help end unfair speculation over Huawei's business ethics and improve its ties with the United States, Chen said.

Huawei once claimed that a series of unproven allegations and misperceptions had hurt its ability to do business in the United States. It publicly asked the United States to launch a formal investigation into its business in an attempt to clear its name.

The unusual call followed the outcome of a recent U.S. government foreign investment review that forced Huawei to sell assets it bought from 3Leaf, a small U.S. company. Three years ago, Huawei had to drop a larger proposed investment in 3Com under similar pressure.


Source: Xinhua

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Berners-Lee calls for higher purpose of Web

by Martin LaMonic

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Tim Berners-Lee at MIT.

(Credit: Martin LaMonica/CNET)

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--Tim Berners-Lee, who invented the underpinnings of the World Wide Web, isn't just concerned about getting browsers on more mobile devices. Architects of the Web need to consider how it will affect all humanity as it evolves.

Berners-Lee was one of the speakers here this afternoon at Computation and the Transformation of Practically Everything, a conference organized by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

 

In his talk, Berners-Lee reprised his role in writing the protocols now used on the Web and how a few chance encounters led to the World Wide Web Consortium being first located at MIT. Looking ahead, he said that the W3C, which manages the development of technical Web standards, needs to adapt to the "ridiculous" number of mobile devices, including mobile phones and tablets.

But even as engineers hammer out the next version of HTML, they have a duty to fulfill a weighty social purpose of the Web, he said. As the way that people connect in society, the Web supports justice, government transparency, and human rights to freedom, he said.



"The challenge before us is getting everyone involved. At the same time that we're a technology consortium, it's incredibly important to push things" in how the Web affects society and culture," he said. "It's not only just about making a cooler device or a cooler Web site. One thing that's changed about the Web is that it's so big and so ubiquitous."

The Web should serve to connect more people and bridge cultural gaps and misunderstandings among people, Berners-Lee said.

One tablet per child

Berners-Lee was part of the lineup of people who spoke on the topic of "computing for everyone" today, which included Nicholas Negroponte, the founder of the MIT Media Lab and chairman of One Laptop Per Child. 

 

Negroponte said that the inexpensive laptops made by One Laptop Per Child have been distributed to 2.4 million people in 40 countries, making an "extraordinary impact" on people in poor countries. As an example, he showed a photo of young child in Peru using a laptop to teach his grandfather how to ready and write, which raises the child self-esteem and raises his profile in the community.

He said the nonprofit will release engineering diagrams for a $75 tablet although it's not yet clear whether it will make the device itself. Multitasking will be a feature because they will be used by students who quickly switch between different tasks, such as playing chess and reading books.

Because OLPC is a nonprofit with a social mission, he said he regretted the negative press it has received. When asked what he would do differently, he said "I might not have pissed on Microsoft and Intel so hard. I used to think it was a badge of honor...If you put me back five years, I would have done it more gracefully."

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Japan nuclear crisis different from Chernobyl, IAEA says; China urges Tokyo to provide prompt updates on crisis

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IAEA says Japan crisis different from Chernobyl

VIENNA - The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on Tuesday that although Japan has raised the severity level of the accident at the Fukushima No 1 plant, the crisis is quite different from the 1986 Chernobyl accident.

"The mechanics of the accidents are totally different," deputy head of IAEA Denis Flory told the press.

Related readings: Japan raises nuclear crisis to same level as Chernobyl Radiation leakage in Japan may exceed Chernobyl  Japan mulls spinning off part of nuclear operator Japan sets to extend nuclear evacuation zone

While Chernobyl accident involves explosion at the reactor core, and the resulting fire and vapors drove a large quantity of radioactive material into the air and surrounding areas, explosions at Fukushima No 1 plant happened outside the pressure vessel which contains the reactor core, Flory said.

He noted that the Japanese nuclear safety authority has estimated that the amount of radioactive material released from the Fukushima No 1 plant to the atmosphere is approximately 10 percent of the Chernobyl accident.

Flory also confirmed that Japanese authorities formally notified the IAEA that the accident is now rated as a level 7, the most serious on an international scale, from the previous 5.

Listed as "Major Accident" on the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale, Level 7 is used to describe an event comprising "A major release of radioactive material with widespread health and environmental effects requiring implementation of planned and extended countermeasures," according to an IAEA statement.

On a positive note, Flory said although situation remains very serious, "there are early signs of recovery in some functions such as electrical power and instrumentation.

Wen urges Tokyo to provide prompt updates on crisis

BEIJING / TOKYO - Premier Wen Jiabao urged Japan on Tuesday to provide prompt information on the nuclear crisis and quickly implement preventive measures to alleviate the consequences on neighboring countries during a phone conversation with Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan

A man is tested for radiation exposure in Koriyama, Fukushima prefecture, northern Japan, on Tuesday. Koriyama is located about 70 kilometers from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant. Japan expanded the evacuation zone around the nuclear plant on Monday because of high radiation levels. [Photo/Agencies]

The conversation took place after Japan raised the crisis level, from 5 to 7, at its crippled nuclear plant on Tuesday, a severity on par with the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.

Level 7 is the highest rank set by the International Nuclear Event Scale, which means huge quantities of radiation have contaminated a wide area.

Related readings:  Japan ups nuke crisis rating to highest level  Japan mulls spinning off part of nuclear operator  Radiation leakage in Japan may exceed Chernobyl  Japan to raise nuclear severity level to maximum  Japan to evacuate locals outside 20-km radius of nuke plant

Wen called for Japan to strictly adhere to related international laws, take preventive measures, and promptly and accurately inform China on the latest updates. 

He also said China is willing to strengthen cooperation in disaster relief and post-disaster reconstruction with Japan, adding that he wanted to "promote healthy and stable Sino-Japanese relations".

Kan said that, on behalf of the Japanese government and people, he expressed his sincere gratitude to China for immediately sending an international rescue team and offers of aid to the tsunami-devastated area.

He also expressed his gratitude to President Hu Jintao for paying a condolence visit to the Japanese embassy in Beijing, Xinhua reported.

While expressing regret for the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, Kan said Japan would promptly provide accurate information to the international community, including China, on the nuclear crisis.

The Japanese nuclear regulator told reporters on Tuesday that the raising of the severity rating from level 5 to 7 was based on new assessments of radiation leaks from the plant and that radioactive substances could affect human health and the environment.

But the agency emphasized that while the new ranking signified the radiation volume was equal to level 7, it was only one-tenth of the contamination released from Chernobyl into the atmosphere.

"Level 7 does not necessarily represent the extent of the damage, but indicates the amount of radiation released," Chen Zhuzhou, a researcher at the science and technology committee of the China National Nuclear Corporation, told China Daily.

Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA) also stressed the difference between Chernobyl and Fukushima.

NISA spokesman Hidehiko Nishiyama said the acute radiation exposure at Chernobyl killed 29 people in contrast to Fukushima, where no fatal casualties were reported. He added that the reactors in the Fukushima plant retained their shape and were damaged by hydrogen explosions, unlike Chernobyl where the nuclear reactor itself exploded.

But Edano also reassured reporters that, so far, there was no "direct" damage to human health.

Youhei Hasegawa, a senior official at Japan's Meteorological Agency, said on Tuesday afternoon that a magnitude 6.3 quake which jolted northeastern Japan was one of the aftershocks. Parts of northeastern Japan were getting seismically active and more aftershocks were likely.


China Daily - Agencies 
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