Under the Economic Espionage Act, conspiracy to steal trade secrets can be punished even if the information is not a trade secret. True or false?

Under the Economic Espionage Act, conspiracy to steal trade secrets can be punished even if the information is not a trade secret. True or false?

• A. True
• B. False
• C. Only if a patent exists
• D. Only if the information is secret but not a trade secret

Answer: (A)

Conspiracy to steal trade secrets is punished because the law reaches the plan, not only the finished status of the information. Under the Economic Espionage Act, criminal liability can attach to an agreement to commit the theft or misappropriation of trade secrets, plus an overt act in furtherance of that plan, even if the information involved does not ultimately qualify as a trade secret. The focus is on the intent to obtain proprietary information for economic gain and the steps taken to pursue that plan. So you can have a conspiracy charge without the target information ever meeting the formal definition of a trade secret. The other ideas—that punishment depends on patent status or on the information being secret but not a trade secret—don’t fit because the conspiracy provision covers the planned act itself, regardless of those classifications.

Conspiracy to steal trade secrets is punished because the law reaches the plan, not only the finished status of the information. Under the Economic Espionage Act, criminal liability can attach to an agreement to commit the theft or misappropriation of trade secrets, plus an overt act in furtherance of that plan, even if the information involved does not ultimately qualify as a trade secret. The focus is on the intent to obtain proprietary information for economic gain and the steps taken to pursue that plan. So you can have a conspiracy charge without the target information ever meeting the formal definition of a trade secret. The other ideas—that punishment depends on patent status or on the information being secret but not a trade secret—don’t fit because the conspiracy provision covers the planned act itself, regardless of those classifications.