#ESPIONAGE DEFINITION US LAW UPDATE#

He was supported in his conviction that new Federal legislation was needed by a number of industry leaders representing principally Silicon Valley and aerospace companies. Freeh, Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation ('FBI'). The lead witness in both hearings was the Honorable Louis J. Two major hearings were held in 1996 to consider the need for Federal legislation to prevent the theft of trade secrets as a result of economic espionage.

#ESPIONAGE DEFINITION US LAW UPDATE#

This article will briefly review the legislative history of the EEA, compare its provisions with existing, more traditional, protection of trade secrets, discuss the criminal law aspects of the EEA, and provide an update on the cases that have been brought to date under the EEA.ĮCONOMIC ESPIONAGE AND THE NEED FOR FEDERAL LEGISLATION With fines up to $5,000,000 and imprisonment of up to 10 years for the domestic theft of trade secrets, the EEA provides a new and very powerful intellectual property regime that extends well beyond the U.S. It applies as well to any typical trade secret dispute involving purely domestic concerns. However, the EEA is not limited to enforcement against foreign governments, or even foreign-based companies. companies, particularly in the high-tech and computer industries, in order to advance the economic interests of their private sector. The overriding reasons behind the enactment of the legislation were the fully documented efforts of foreign governments to gain access to the trade secrets of U.S. With the enactment in 1996 of the Economic Espionage Act ('EEA'), the Federal Government has moved aggressively into the protection of private property rights in trade secrets. FEDERAL PROTECTION FOR CORPORATE TRADE SECRETSīy J.

Espionage definition us law