Economic Espionage

U.S.C. Title 18 Part 1 Chapter 90 Section 1831 covers economic espionage.  Very basically, economic espionage is the taking of trade secrets and delivering those trade secrets to foreign entities.  It carries a penalty of up to half a million dollars and/or up to 15 years in prison for people who get caught doing it; And 10 million dollar fine for organizations that get caught doing it.  

The law requires only that the perpetrator intends their crime to benefit a foreign government, foreign instrumentality, or foreign agent.  The acts, with respect to trade secrets, that are prohibited are well enumerated.  They include all sorts of stealing, carrying away, and fraudulently inducing the trade secret owner into giving up possession of the trade secret.  The law also includes, as illegal acts, photocopying, uploading, destroying, replicating in any way, or receiving information that you know to be a trade secret.  Attempts to do any of those acts are also outlawed.  Finally conspiring with others to do any of those illegal acts is also illegal.

The law against economic espionage is broad and requires limited involvement in a scheme to steal trade secrets for the benefit of a foreign entity, for strict punishments to be imposed.  For this reason it is important that potential victims of economic espionage label all of their trade secrets as confidential.  The potentially accused must make sure that they handle other's trade secrets with utmost confidentiality, to avoid being implicated in plots to steal trade secrets.