PRIA, Government Policy, Made Personal

Summary

Makes it a federal crime to take or use someone else's trade secret tied to a product or service used across state lines or in other countries when a person wants money or advantage for someone other than the owner and knows it will hurt the owner. It covers taking the secret by theft or trick, copying, sending, changing, or destroying it, keeping it when you know it was stolen, trying to do these things, or planning them with others if someone acts on the plan. A person can be fined, jailed for up to 10 years, or both. A business can be fined the larger of $5,000,000 or three times the value of the stolen secret, including research, design, and reproduction costs avoided.

Title 18, §1832

Crimes and Criminal Procedure, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Whoever, with intent to convert a trade secret, that is related to a product or service used in or intended for use in interstate or foreign commerce, to the economic benefit of anyone other than the owner thereof, and intending or knowing that the offense will, injure any owner of that trade secret, knowingly—

(1)steals, or without authorization appropriates, takes, carries away, or conceals, or by fraud, artifice, or deception obtains such information;

(2)without authorization copies, duplicates, sketches, draws, photographs, downloads, uploads, alters, destroys, photocopies, replicates, transmits, delivers, sends, mails, communicates, or conveys such information;

(3)receives, buys, or possesses such information, knowing the same to have been stolen or appropriated, obtained, or converted without authorization;

(4)attempts to commit any offense described in paragraphs (1) through (3); or

(5)conspires with one or more other persons to commit any offense described in paragraphs (1) through (3), and one or more of such persons do any act to effect the object of the conspiracy,

shall, except as provided in subsection (b), be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 10 years, or both.

(b)Any organization that commits any offense described in subsection (a) shall be fined not more than the greater of $5,000,000 or 3 times the value of the stolen trade secret to the organization, including expenses for research and design and other costs of reproducing the trade secret that the organization has thereby avoided.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2016—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 114–153 substituted “the greater of $5,000,000 or 3 times the value of the stolen trade secret to the organization, including expenses for research and design and other costs of reproducing the trade secret that the organization has thereby avoided” for “$5,000,000”. 2012—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 112–236 substituted “a product or service used in or intended for use in” for “or included in a product that is produced for or placed in” in introductory provisions.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Report on Theft of Trade Secrets Occurring Abroad Pub. L. 114–153, § 4, May 11, 2016, 130 Stat. 382, which requires biannual reports on the theft of trade secrets of United States companies occurring outside of the United States, was editorially reclassified as section 41310 of Title 34, Crime Control and Law

§1832 Theft of Trade Secrets