The Economic Espionage Act & the National Stolen Property Act
Learn about the criminalization of the theft of commercial trade secrets and the interstate and foreign transportation of stolen goods.
Transcript
The Economic Espionage Act of 1996, or the EEA, criminalizes the theft or unauthorized acquisition of commercial trade secrets.
I. The Economic Espionage Act – 18 U.S.C. §§ 1831, 1832
The EEA creates two separate crimes, namely, economic espionage and the theft of trade secrets. Economic espionage occurs when a trade secret is stolen to benefit a foreign government. For an economic-espionage conviction, the government must prove:
· the defendant stole information, or...