Did Bond steal the Solex from its rightful owner?

At the beginning, all we're told is that Gibson, the solar energy scientist and designer of the Solex was "missing". It's never said he's been kidnapped or coerced. He's able to meet with Hip, so he has some measure of freedom and is using the Solex to return to the British. Hai Fat mentions he's invested half his fortune in the project.

This all seems that Hai Fat hired Gibson and invest heavily into his research and presumably used Scaramanga's lair as the secret test site for some reason. At this point, Hai Fat's corporation would seem to be the legal owner of the Solex and no crimes are committed until Gibson steals in and Scaramanga murders him. Whether or not Scaramanga's claim to be the new chairman of the board hold weight is irrelevant. The company still owns the Solex, not the British. No one seemed to know about the weaponization of the technology until Scaramaga shows Bond the laser.

Since Bond was already working on Gibson, "disappearance" and only started looking for Scaramanga because the bullet was sent, it means the British were originally looking to force him back against his will. The fact that Scaramanga was also involved with Hai Fat and the Solex was a pure coincidence.