![]() ![]() The academic prosecutions and other signals suggest that may be shifting, however, as the legal structure and larger incentives are directed toward greater recognition of proprietary interests in academia. Accordingly, this Article posits that while there is no de jure exceptionalism for universities when it comes to espionage, there may be de facto exceptionalism due to the lack of a proprietary culture that is typically at the heart of espionage cases. I theorize that this is because academia is grounded not in a culture of ownership, but of openness and sharing. Unlike in the corporate arena, there are fundamental questions surrounding the feasibility of prosecuting espionage in the university context. ![]() Even one district court judge in granting a lighter sentence to one professor observed that contrary to the prosecution’s framing, the case was not one of espionage. Most telling, although labelled as spies, not one of the professors was actually charged with economic espionage. Yet, my investigation and analysis of these cases reveals much ambiguity about the very concept of academic economic espionage. AugWhen I tell people that my law practice is heavily focused on corporate espionage litigation and investigations, the typical response is, Oh, that sounds really cool. Since 2019, over a dozen high profile criminal prosecutions have put prominent professors at major research universities across the country in handcuffs and almost all the professors have been convicted of a crime. This geopolitical concern about espionage has had real world and personal consequences in academia. The DOJ’s grave concerns about espionage in academia have continued, and even more recently the Director of the FBI has lamented that American taxpayers are footing the bill for China’s technological development. “Today’s sentence demonstrates the seriousness of those crimes and the Justice Department’s determination to investigate and prosecute efforts by the Chinese government, or any foreign power, to threaten our economic and national security.In 2018 then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that Chinese espionage was occurring in university research labs, and the Department of Justice subsequently made it a high priority to prosecute economic espionage in academia. Industrial Espionage Act for an individual, and one. That's the maximum sentence under the U.S. and abroad,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement. The difference between industrial espionage and corporate spying is 20 years and 10 million. “As proven at trial, the defendant, a Chinese government intelligence officer, used a range of techniques to attempt to steal technology and proprietary information from companies based in both the U.S. Xu had directed that spy, Ji Chaoqun, “to collect biographical information on people to potentially recruit to work with them,” prosecutors said. Xu would provide employees of GE Aviation – which worked with the FBI in its case against him – with trips to China to give presentations to a university there and ask for detailed information on designs and “system specifications,” according to the Justice Department.Īccording to prosecutors, Xu tried to steal an exclusive composite aircraft engine fan module from GE Aviation and recruited “insiders” in a French aircraft engine manufacturer facility to plant malware on their computer to infiltrate the manufacturer’s network.Īnother Chinese spy was convicted in September of working with Xu and the Chinese Ministry of State Security while attending school in Chicago. “This case is just the latest example of the Chinese government’s continued attacks on American economic security – and, by extension, our national security,” FBI Director Christopher Wray said in a statement following the sentencing. Department of Justice - Archived - Trade Secret/Economic Espionage Cases Insider access card control information Sentence: 60 months. Xu was convicted by a jury in Cincinnati last year. ![]() A Chinese government intelligence officer, the first to be extradited to the United States for trial, was sentenced to 20 years in prison Wednesday after being convicted last year of multiple charges including conspiracy to commit corporate espionage and attempted theft of trade secrets.Īccording to prosecutors, Yanjun Xu – the deputy division director at the Chinese Ministry of State Security – targeted foreign and US companies focused on aviation in an effort to steal information, including US military information and aviation trade secrets. ![]()
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