Title 18 – United States Code – Crimes and Criminal Procedure
Part 1 – Crimes
Chapter 90 – Protection of Trade Secrets
Sec. 1832. Theft of trade secrets
[optional link to www.govinfo.gov – details of statute history and downloads]
(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.
(Added Pub. L. 104–294, title I, §101(a), Oct. 11, 1996, 110 Stat. 3489; amended Pub. L. 112–236, §2, Dec. 28, 2012, 126 Stat. 1627; Pub. L. 114–153, §3(a)(1), May 11, 2016, 130 Stat. 382.)
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