A Chinese company linked by US officials to the theft of Lucent Technologies Inc software denied wrongdoing and said it was "shocked" by the allegations.
Datang Telecom Technology Co, one of China's biggest phone and computer makers, said in a statement published in state media that it didn't receive Lucent's PathStar software, used in low- cost voice and data services over the Internet.
Its comments mark the first response from China after two Lucent scientists and a third man were charged in the US last week with stealing PathStar information and trying to deliver it to Comtriad Technologies Inc, a joint venture with Datang.
"Datang is shocked at these recent reports and regrets that our reputation has been hurt," the company said.
It hasn't yet invested any money in the Comtriad venture, established last October, and neither Datang nor Comtriad have received "any so-called source codes from any source."
The legal row between Datang and Lucent -- partners in the telecommunications equipment business in China -- is the latest in a series of spats related to intellectual property rights as China prepares to join the WTO.
Stakes are high for Lucent, which is trying to sell optical fiber and telecommunication equipment in China, Asia's largest phone market.
The New Jersey-based firm is the sole supplier of a 6,000km optical fiber network in southern China.
It's also helping Konka Group Co, a large Chinese appliance maker, make cellular phones that can send signals 13 times faster than current phones, using a packet-switching technology.
Lucent executives in China, where it employs 4,500 people and has eight joint ventures, said business hasn't been affected.
"What has happened won't affect our business relationship with the other Chinese companies we are working with," said Kung Hing-Tong, a Beijing-based Lucent spokesman. "This is an isolated incident. We will deal with our internal employee problem and protect our intellectual property rights."
According to a US Justice Department complaint, the two Lucent scientists -- Kai Xu, a 33-year-old resident of Somerset, New Jersey, and Hai Lin, a 30-year-old resident of Scotch Plains, New Jersey -- ran Comtriad. The third man taken into custody, Yong- Qing Cheng, was identified as the registered agent for Comtriad, which was established in January 2000.
In their jobs at Lucent, court papers said, the two scientists worked on the company's PathStar software system.
PathStar generated about US$100 million in revenue for Lucent in fiscal 2000, according to the complaint.
The complaint said that Hai Lin and Kai Xu stole Lucent's proprietary information on PathStar for Comtriad. According to court papers, Yong-Qing Cheng visited China in July 2000 to discuss a joint venture between Comtriad and Datang.
The Comtriad-Datang venture's business plan described a product known as the CLX-1000, which was "identical to the PathStar Access Server," the complaint said.
On the Shanghai Stock Exchange, Datang's Class A shares (reserved for Chinese citizens) rose 0.4 percent to 28.12 yuan (US$3.40), yesterday.
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