problem, it was obvious that existing initiatives had not been effective in preventing the theft of economic secrets. In recognition of the growing threat of economic espionage and the inability of existing legislation to deal with it, the Economic Espionage Act of 1996 (18 U.S.C. secs. 1831-1839) was signed into law on October 11, 1996, creating a new federal crime -- the theft of trade secrets. The Department of justice now has sweeping authority to prosecute the theft of trade secrets in the United States. The act, intended to crack down on economic espionage by foreign and domestic competitors, makes it illegal to steal a competitor's "proprietary" economic information and imposes stiff new penalties for these thefts. Section 1831 of the act addresses economic espionage provisions and agents of foreign powers. Section 1832 of the act makes it a federal crime for any person to convert a trade secret to his own benefit or the benefit of others knowing that the offense will injure the owner of the trade secret. Although the problem of economic espionage had become extensive and was the subject of debate in Congress, few people outside of those fighting it and those affected by it were aware of its scope and impact. This article attempts to close this information gap by providing a working definition of economic espionage and trade secrets, describing the methods that are used to obtain trade secrets from American corporations and research centers, and su...
