Rare Economic Espionage Case Going To Trial

JORDAN ROBERTSON

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Two men accused of stealing computer chip blueprints — and trying to tap the Chinese government to help launch a startup built on the contraband — are becoming the first defendants charged with economic espionage to have their case heard by a jury.

The rare charge of economic espionage involves the theft of trade secrets with the intent to benefit a foreign government. That government doesn't have to be part of the plot for the charge to stick, though authorities say they sometimes suspect foreign officials know about a theft, even if that can't be proved in court.

The outcome of the case against Lan Lee, an American citizen, and Yuefei Ge, a Chinese national, could be a gauge of how seriously the public considers a crime that until now has been handled only by judges.

Lee and Ge are former employees of a Silicon Valley company called NetLogic Microsystems Inc., which makes chips for computer-networking equipment. They are accused of downloading top-secret technical descriptions of an upcoming chip in 2003, and then trying to secure venture funding from China to start a company based on the stolen designs.