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ARTICLE · 11 JANUARY 2007

Economic Espionage Act Convictions Announced

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On December 14, 2006, Fei Ye and Ming Zhong, both residents of the State of California, pleaded guilty to two counts each of violating Section 1831 of the Economic Espionage Act (EEA). 18 U.S.C. § 1831. According to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), these represent the first two convictions under this section of the EEA, which deals with the theft of trade secrets for the benefit of a foreign nation.

United StatesIntellectual Property
David Simon
David Simon
John Turlais
John Turlais
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Department of Justice Obtains First Convictions Under Section 1831 for Theft of Trade Secret for the Benefit of a Foreign Nation

On December 14, 2006, Fei Ye and Ming Zhong, both residents of the State of California, pleaded guilty to two counts each of violating Section 1831 of the Economic Espionage Act (EEA). 18 U.S.C. § 1831. According to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), these represent the first two convictions under this section of the EEA, which deals with the theft of trade secrets for the benefit of a foreign nation.

Ye and Zhong were arrested in the San Francisco airport on November 23, 2001 while boarding a flight to China. In their luggage, authorities located trade secret information from Sun Microsystems and Transmeta Corporation. Ye and Zhong admitted they had stolen the trade secrets and had intended to use them to design a computer microprocessor to be manufactured and marketed by a company they had established, Supervision, Inc. Supervision was to provide a

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