The jury also convicted USAPTI of attempted economic espionage, attempted theft of trade secrets, possession of trade secrets, and conveying trade secrets. ![]() ![]() In March 2014, a federal jury in San Francisco convicted Liew of eight counts of violating the EEA, including conspiracy to commit economic espionage, conspiracy to commit theft of trade secrets, attempted economic espionage, attempted theft of trade secrets, possession of trade secrets, and conveying trade secrets. 4 Prosecutors showed that Liew and USAPTI contracted with state-owned entities of the PRC to develop chloride-route TiO2 projects that “relied on the transfer of illegally obtained DuPont technology.” 5 Liew then assembled a team of employees at USAPTI who formerly worked at DuPont, which had previously developed sophisticated chloride-route TiO2 technology. 3 PRC representatives shared these plans with Liew. Federal prosecutors presented evidence that the PRC government decided in the 1990s to develop its production capabilities of chloride-route titanium dioxide (“TiO2”)-“a commercially valuable white pigment” with various uses, including coloring paint, plastics, and Oreo cookies-to replace the less efficient existing sulfate-route TiO2 production process. District Court for the Northern District of California. Liew and USAPTI’s 2014 trial took place in the U.S. In so doing, Ninth Circuit panel affirmed the first federal jury conviction for charges arising under the EEA and potentially catalyzed more aggressive economic espionage and trade secret enforcement. du Pont de Nemours & Company (“DuPont”) and the sale of the trade secrets to state-owned companies in the People’s Republic of China (“PRC”). (“USAPTI”), for various violations of the Economic Espionage Act of 1996 (“EEA”) relating to Liew’s and USAPTI’s theft of trade secrets from E.I. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on upheld the 2014 convictions of a California businessman, Walter Liew (“Liew”), and his company USA Performance Technology, Inc.
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