SHENZHEN, Dec. 7 (Xinhuanet) -- China's telecom giant, Huawei Technologies Co., won an infringement case against its former employees.

    Shenzhen Nanshan District People's Court Tuesday sentenced the three defendants, Wang Zhijun, Liu Ning and Qin Xuejun to two to three years in prison and they were fined for up to 50,000 yuan (6,024 US dollars) each.

    The three defendants had worked on optical network technology development in Huawei and had access to company-own technologies. They each resigned, claiming that they were returning to school in November 2001. Instead the men founded a company in Shanghai with 500,000 yuan (60,241 US dollars) of investment, Shanghai Huke Company.

    They also hunted and employed about 20 technology developers from Huawei. Within half a year, they began to promote optical network products similar with those of Huawei across the country, according to the court.

    They sold the technology and some of the assets to a Hangzhou-based company and earned 2 million yuan (240,963 US dollars) and shares worth 15 million US dollars, according to the court.

    Huawei spokesperson said that the verdict is just and will help ensure a healthy environment favorable for intellectual property rights protection among Chinese high-tech companies. It will help maintain a fair market competition environment.

    Huawei claimed it had invested heavy funds and more than 1,500 technicians to develop optical network from 1995 to 2001. The products have been sold to more than 40 countries.

    A major Chinese telecommunications equipment manufacturer, Huawei has provided telecom network solutions for fixed-line, mobile, data communications network and other value-added services for Chinese cell phone operators including China Telecom, China Mobile, China Unicom, China Railcom and China Netcom. Enditem