Trade Secret Theft Research Articles

Ex-Eastman employee charged with trade-secret theft

A federal grand jury has indicted an American materials scientist and a Chinese national for stealing trade secrets related to formulas for bisphenol A–free coatings. The technology was developed by several companies and a major customer as part of an effort to replace food and beverage can linings made with BPA-containing epoxies because of concerns about the human health effects of BPA. The American, Xiaorong “Shannon” You, is a PhD polymer scientist and 25-year industry veteran who worked for Coca-Cola and Eastman Chemical, the companies confirm. They are identified as “Employer #1” and “Employer #2” in the indictment. During You’s employment at Coca-Cola as principal engineer for global research, the beverage company had a confidential research collaboration with six unnamed firms to develop non-BPA coating technologies. The indictment says she was one of a limited number of employees with access to trade secrets from all six companies. Before she left

Cybersecurity as an Essential Sustainable Economic Development Factor

Technological developments facilitated an impressive growth in international trade; however, organizations are facing numerous risks, resulting from their reliance on digital services and complex supply chains. One of the most notable risks concerns cybersecurity, which can take numerous forms and can have very significant negative consequences for the victims. This reality makes cybersecurity a major differentiator for organizations and an essential sustainable economic development factor. This paper employs an empirically-informed theoretical approach, and, based on a large corpus of data, consisting essentially of cases brought to courts, cybersecurity reports, and press releases, examines the main cybersecurity risks, grouped in three broad categories: damage, theft of trade secrets, and payment fraud. In each category, the main issues are illustrated with real case examples. The findings of this study underline the need for improved cybersecurity strategies, policies, and programs. The paper proposes a number of measures that must be taken, in order to provide conditions for a safer and better economic development environment. Keywords: Cybersecurity, E-Commerce, Sustainable Development, Damage, Trade Secret, Fraud, Loss

Former GSK scientist admits to IP theft

Yu Xue, a Ph.D. biochemist who worked at GlaxoSmithKline’s research facility in Upper Merion, Pa., has pleaded guilty to stealing intellectual property (IP) from her former employer, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. She has not yet been sentenced. Xue planned to use the pilfered research to benefit a Chinese drug company, Renopharma, that she and her associates had set up with financial support from the Chinese government, the Justice Department says. According to the original 2016 indictment, Xue was accused of stealing IP on pharmaceuticals under development, including a monoclonal antibody similar to the cancer therapy Herceptin. Over time, the partners aimed to develop their own antibody drugs. “We cannot allow U.S. citizens or foreign nationals to steal sensitive business information and hand it over to competitors in other countries,” says William M. McSwain, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Trade-secret theft has

Unpacking Cybernorms: Private Companies as Norms Entrepreneurs

Concerns over practices in cyberspace are central to the consolidating international agenda for cybersecurity. Responses to such concerns come in different shapes and sizes, and are proposed by different actors. Whether it concerns intellectual property rights, the theft of trade secrets, collection of personal data, critical infrastructure protection, DNS security, or geopolitical issues, the rise of cybersecurity as a multifaceted global issue has led to the proliferation of governance mechanisms aimed at responding thereto. While state efforts have sought to promote norms of responsible state behaviour in cyberspace, we argue that technology companies are also taking the lead as norm entrepreneurs in the context of the stability and security of cyberspace. We explore the tensions between current literature on cyber norms and the role of private actors as potential norm entrepreneurs in global cybersecurity. In an attempt to determine the position of private actors in this field, we turn to practices such as corporate diplomacy and lobbying as avenues for highlighting the methods in which corporations engage in international policymaking in general, and cyber norms in particular. We look at Microsoft’s case to unpack the company’s role in the normative development of cybersecurity globally. We analyse documents containing the company’s policies and strategies, and argue that these efforts consist of an attempt to influence global public policies on cybersecurity. In conclusion, we note that, notwithstanding these efforts, the lack of coordination between different aspects of norm-making processes illustrates the challenges facing the advancement of international cyber norms.

Unpacking cyber norms: private companies as norm entrepreneurs

ABSTRACTConcerns over practices in cyberspace are central to the consolidating international agenda for cybersecurity. Responses to such concerns come in different shapes and sizes, and are proposed by different actors. Whether it concerns intellectual property rights, the theft of trade secrets, collection of personal data, critical infrastructure protection, DNS security, or geopolitical issues, the rise of cybersecurity as a multifaceted global issue has led to the proliferation of governance mechanisms aimed at responding thereto. While state efforts have sought to promote norms of responsible state behaviour in cyberspace, we argue that technology companies are also taking the lead as norm entrepreneurs in the context of the stability and security of cyberspace. We explore the tensions between current literature on cyber norms and the role of private actors as potential norm entrepreneurs in global cybersecurity. In an attempt to determine the position of private actors in this field, we turn to practices such as corporate diplomacy and lobbying as avenues for highlighting the methods in which corporations engage in international policymaking in general, and cyber norms in particular. We look at Microsoft’s case to unpack the company’s role in the normative development of cybersecurity globally. We analyse documents containing the company’s policies and strategies, and argue that these efforts consist of an attempt to influence global public policies on cybersecurity. In conclusion, we note that, notwithstanding these efforts, the lack of coordination between different aspects of norm-making processes illustrates the challenges facing the advancement of international cyber norms.

Cyanide trade secret theft

Federal prosecutors have obtained an indictment against a former Chemours employee for stealing trade secrets related to sodium cyanide and trying to sell them to Chinese investors. The indictment charges that marketing professional Jerry Jindong Xu, who worked for Chemours and its former parent DuPont between 2004 and 2016, intended to use the stolen information to convince Chinese investors to export sodium cyanide and later build a competing plant in North America. Sodium cyanide is widely used to extract gold from ore. Demand for the potentially deadly chemical has been on the rise as consumption of gold increases. Earlier this year, Evonik Industries and Grupo Idesa opened a 40,000-metric-ton-per-year sodium cyanide facility in Mexico. Chemours announced plans for a $150 million plant in the Mexican state of Durango. The indictment charges Xu with conspiracy to commit theft of trade secrets. If convicted, he faces 10 years imprisonment and a $250,000

Intellectual property theft and national security: Agendas and assumptions

ABSTRACTAbout a decade ago, intellectual property started getting systematically treated as a national security threat to the United States. The scope of the threat is broadly conceived to include hacking, trade secret theft, file sharing, and even foreign students enrolling in American universities. In each case, the national security of the United States is claimed to be at risk, not just its economic competitiveness. This article traces the U.S. government's efforts to establish and articulate intellectual property theft as a national security issue. It traces the discourse on intellectual property as a security threat and its place within the larger security dialogue of cyberwar and cybersecurity. It argues that the focus on the theft of intellectual property as a security issue helps justify enhanced surveillance and control over the Internet and its future development. Such a framing of intellectual property has consequences for how we understand information exchange on the Internet and for the future of U.S. diplomatic relations around the globe.

A [Mostly] Legislative History of the Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016

This paper provides a narrative of the passage of the Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 — legislation, passed by Congress in April, 2016, that establishes a federal civil cause of action for the theft of trade secrets. It analyzes the justifications for the bill, how it was drafted and passed and how Congress expressed its objectives in the law’s legislative history source documents.

Congress passes bill to deter theft of trade secrets

Congress passes bill to deter theft of trade secrets

Statement of Professor Sharon K. Sandeen Before the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary on 'Protecting Trade Secrets: The Impact of Trade Secret Theft on American Competitiveness and Potential Solutions to Remedy this Harm.'

This is formal testimony given by Professor Sandeen before the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary regarding the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA).

Trade secrets in life science and pharmaceutical companies.

Trade secret protection arises under state common law and state statutes. In general, a trade secret is information that is not generally known to the public and is maintained as a secret, and it provides a competitive advantage or economic benefit to the trade secret holder. Trade secrets can be worth tens or hundreds of millions of dollars, and damage awards in trade secret litigation have been high; often, there is a lot at stake. Obtaining a trade secret through "improper means" is misappropriation. If the alleged trade secret, however, was developed independently, known publicly, or not maintained as a secret, then those defenses may successfully overcome a claim for trade secret misappropriation. With today's interconnectedness in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical fields, more collaborations, joint ventures, and outsourcing arrangements among firms, and increased mobility of employees' careers, life science companies need to not only understand how to protect their trade secrets, but also know how to defend against a claim for trade secret theft.

Who are these people? Personality traits and judgments about trade secret misappropriation in post‐employment activities

Trade secret theft is a problem that almost all organizations face. The greatest threat is employee mobility and potential unethical post‐employment behavior. This study investigates the role of individual personality traits in judgments about trade secret misappropriation. Our hypotheses were tested in three studies addressing three different situational contexts: current employees, employees about to be laid off, and students who had quit their job. Relationships were estimated with robust regression. The results show that some personality traits predict judgment about another person's trade secret misappropriation, and that the situational context in which individuals formulate their ethical judgment moderates the impact of personality traits on ethical judgment.

The Case Against Federalizing Trade Secrecy

Trade secrecy is unique among the major intellectual property (IP) doctrines because it is governed primarily by state law. Recently, however, a number of influential actors — including legislators, academics, and organizations representing IP attorneys and owners — have proposed creating a private civil cause of action for trade secret misappropriation under federal law. Proponents assert that federalizing trade secrecy would provide numerous benefits, including substantive uniformity, the availability of a federal forum for misappropriation litigation, and the creation of a unified national regime governing IP rights.This Article engages in the first systematic critique of the claim that federalizing trade secrecy is normatively desirable. Ultimately, it concludes that there are multiple reasons for trade secrecy to remain primarily the province of state law, including preservation of states’ ability to engage in limited experimentation regarding the scope of trade secret protection and federalization’s potential negative impact on the disclosure of patent-eligible inventions. Finally, it proposes an alternative approach — a modest expansion of federal courts’ jurisdiction over state law trade secret claims — that can help address the issue of trade secret theft without requiring outright federalization.

U.S. Efforts to Enhance Cybersecurity and to Counter International Theft of Trade Secrets

U.S. Efforts to Enhance Cybersecurity and to Counter International Theft of Trade Secrets

Unfair Trade Practices in Malaysia with Special Reference to Trademarks Infringement

The Consumer Protection Act states that a business must not engage in any conduct that misleads or deceive consumers. What is exactly mean by trade practice? Definition from Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary about unfair trade practice carry meaning as any commercial behavior or activity that is legally unjust or deceptive. It includes such diverse activities as trademark infringement, false advertising, and theft of trade secrets but can include any illegal dirty tricks within the marketplace. If a court finds that an activity constitutes unfair competition, it will prevent that activity from occurring in the future and may award money damages to the person or company harmed by the activity.

Crimes Involving Intangible Property

A well-known cliche came to life in 2012 when “[t]he pope’s butler was convicted… of stealing the pontiff’s private documents and leaking them to a journalist….” This paper was prompted by his lawyer’s unsuccessfully arguing that taking “only photocopies, not original documents” should not be criminal.The paper therefore considers bases for prosecuting the theft of purely intangible interests under U.S. federal and state law.Because the text in question had been fixed, states would have no authority to prosecute for unauthorized copying in the nature of copyright infringement. Moreover, the seminal Dowling case finds that penal jurisdiction under the Copyright Act displaces federal liability for theft of tangible property — at least in the absence of other subject-specific statutes. Yet, successful prosecution would require an examination of the retail value of works not produced for sale.Because the text in question had not been published, unauthorized taking might also qualify as theft of trade secrets. The paper therefore considers the 1996 Economic Espionage as a basis for federal jurisdiction and turns to the recent Aleynikov opinion. Barring simultaneous theft of tangible property, the Second Circuit likewise finds only subject-specific prosecution possible for theft of compute code. Although the code qualified as a trade secret, and the federal EEA facially applied, a key requirement could not be satisfied. Roughly half of the paper considers state penal statutes. Because of preemption, unauthorized duplication of published documents cannot be prosecuted, but theft of the contents of unpublished documents would be possible. Some state statutes name trade secrets as subject property; others name intangibles generally; and others name neither. Were a case such as the one involving the Vatican papers to be tried in a state court, a variety of problems would be encountered under each type of statute. The paper uses three cases to illustrate some of those problems.Looking well beyond the papal papers, the paper ultimately suggests that something akin to a penal version of the Uniform Trade Secret Act might bring more resources to bear on increasingly disruptive criminal activities.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY Cases advance against two scientists accused of trade secret theft

A scientist accused of stealing trade secrets from her employer has been sentenced to jail, and a scientist in a separate case has agreed to plead guilty. Former Sanofi scientist Yuan Li was sentenced to 18 months in prison. She pled guilty earlier this year in the U.S. District Court of New Jersey to one count of theft of trade secrets from the pharmaceutical maker. Li, who worked for Sanofi between 2006 and 2011, was also ordered to pay $131,000 in restitution. Li admitted to stealing information about Sanofi compounds and then offering them for sale on the website of Abby PharmaTech, in which she had a financial interest. According to court documents, Abby PharmaTech is a unit of Xiamen KAK Science & Technology of Xiamen, China. In a separate case, Prabhu Mohapatra reached an agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah to plead guilty to ...

A test case for IP in china

In the next few months, a series of lawsuits will play out in the Chinese courts that could define the risks foreign companies take when they try to make money in China?s booming markets. The U.S. green energy company AMSC is suing its former customer Sinovel Wind Group Co., China's biggest wind turbine manufacturer, for breach of contract, copyright infringement, and theft of trade secrets. In total, AMSC, based in Devens, Mass., is asking for about US $1.2 billion in damages, making this the largest intellectual property case to date in China.

WHEN SCIENTISTS BETRAY EMPLOYERS

RETURN TO ISSUEPREVNewsNEXTWHEN SCIENTISTS BETRAY EMPLOYERSCultural differences may help explain rash of TRADE SECRET THEFT involving Asian researchersMARC S. REISCHView Author Information C&EN NORTHEAST NEWS BUREAUCite this: Chem. Eng. News 2011, 89, 41, 24–26Publication Date (Print):October 10, 2011Publication History Published online9 March 2012Published inissue 10 October 2011https://doi.org/10.1021/cen-v089n041.p024Copyright © 2011 AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETYArticle Views15Altmetric-Citations-LEARN ABOUT THESE METRICSArticle Views are the COUNTER-compliant sum of full text article downloads since November 2008 (both PDF and HTML) across all institutions and individuals. These metrics are regularly updated to reflect usage leading up to the last few days.Citations are the number of other articles citing this article, calculated by Crossref and updated daily. Find more information about Crossref citation counts.The Altmetric Attention Score is a quantitative measure of the attention that a research article has received online. Clicking on the donut icon will load a page at altmetric.com with additional details about the score and the social media presence for the given article. Find more information on the Altmetric Attention Score and how the score is calculated. Share Add toView InAdd Full Text with ReferenceAdd Description ExportRISCitationCitation and abstractCitation and referencesMore Options Share onFacebookTwitterWechatLinked InReddit PDF (633 KB) SUBJECTS:Fibers Get e-Alerts

INDUSTRIAL ESPIONAGE Former Dow scientist admits to theft of trade secrets

Former Dow AgroSciences scientist Kexue Huang has agreed to plead guilty to two counts of stealing trade secrets from Dow Chemical and Cargill. If a federal judge in Indianapolis accepts the deal b...