U.S. Code » Title 18 » Part PART I— CRIMES › Chapter CHAPTER 90— PROTECTION OF TRADE SECRETS

18 U.S.C. § 1832

Theft of trade secrets

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(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.)Editorial NotesAmendments

2016—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 114–153 substituted “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” for “$5,000,000”.

2012—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 112–236 substituted “a product or service used in or intended for use in” for “or included in a product that is produced for or placed in” in introductory provisions.

Statutory Notes and Related SubsidiariesReport on Theft of Trade Secrets Occurring Abroad

Pub. L. 114–153, § 4, May 11, 2016, 130 Stat. 382, which requires biannual reports on the theft of trade secrets of United States companies occurring outside of the United States, was editorially reclassified as section 41310 of Title 34, Crime Control and Law Enforcement.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 240 cases (126 in the last 5 years), 1997–2026 · leading case: United States v. Agrawal, 726 F.3d 235 (2d Cir. 2013).
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United States v. Agrawal, 726 F.3d 235 (2d Cir. 2013). · cites it 19× “Rakoff, Judge) under specific federal laws, namely, the Economic Espionage Act (“EEA”), see 18 U.S.C. § 1832 , and the National Stolen Property Act (“NSPA”), see id.”
United States v. Nosal, 676 F.3d 854 (9th Cir. 2012). · cites it 6× “[3] Congress did just that in the federal trade secrets statute — 18 U.S.C. § 1832 — where it used the common law terms for misappropriation, including "with intent to convert," "steals," "appropriates" and "takes.”
United States v. David Nosal, 828 F.3d 865 (9th Cir. 2016). · cites it 10× “CONVICTIONS UNDER THE ECONOMIC ESPIONAGE ACT (EEA) The jury convicted Nosal of two counts of trade secret theft under the EEA: Count 5 charged “unauthorized downloading, copying and duplicating of trade secrets” in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1832 (a)(2) & (a)(4); and Count 6…”
United States v. Walter Liew, 856 F.3d 585 (9th Cir. 2017). · cites it 5× “§ 1831 ; and (2) “[tjheft of trade secrets,” where the trade secret “is related to a product or service used in or intended for use in interstate or foreign commerce” and is knowingly converted “to the economic benefit of anyone other than the owner” with the intent or knowledge…”
United States v. Nosal, 844 F.3d 1024 (9th Cir. 2016). · cites it 4× “violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1832 (a)(3) & (a)(4). Both counts relate to Christian’s use of FH’s login credentials to obtain three, source lists of CFOs from Searcher.”
United States v. Aleynikov, 737 F. Supp. 2d 173 (S.D.N.Y. 2010). · cites it 11× “The Indictment charges Aleynikov in three counts with theft of trade secrets in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1832 (a)(2) and (4); transportation of stolen property in interstate commerce, in violation of 18 U.”
Steves & Sons, Inc. v. Jeld-Wen, Inc., 271 F. Supp. 3d 835 (E.D. Va. 2017). · cites it 7× “§ 1836; SECOND COUNTERCLAIM FOR RELIEF, Conspiracy to Violate Defend Trade Secrets Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1832 (a)(5); THIRD COUNTERCLAIM FOR RELIEF, Violation of the-Texas Uniform Trade Secret Act, Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code Annotated ■§§ 134A.”
United States v. Yihao Pu, 814 F.3d 818 (7th Cir. 2016). · cites it 4× “§ 1343 , four counts of unlawful transmission of trade secrets, 18 U.S.C. § 1832 (a)(2), six counts of unlawful possession of trade secrets, 18 U.”
United States v. Kai-Lo Hsu, A/K/A James Hsu. United States of Am. v. Chester S. Ho. United States of Am., 155 F.3d 189 (3rd Cir. 1998). · cites it 6× “§ 2 , ánd, most importantly for our purposes, two counts of criminal activity under the Economic Espionage Act of 1996 (“the EEA”), including attempted theft of trade secrets, and a conspiracy to steal trade secrets, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1832 (a)(4) and (a)(5). B. The…”
United States v. Williams, 526 F.3d 1312 (11th Cir. 2008). · cites it 2× “*1316 PER CURIAM: In these consolidated appeals, Joya Williams appeals her conviction and 96-month sentence, and Ibrahim Dimson appeals his 60-month sentence, for conspiracy to commit theft of trade secrets, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1832 (a)(1), (3), and (5). I.”
United States v. Aleynikov, 676 F.3d 71 (2d Cir. 2012). · cites it 4× “§ 2314 (the "NSPA"), and the Economic Espionage Act of 1996, 18 U.S.C. § 1832 (the "EEA"). On appeal, Aleynikov argues, inter alia, that his conduct did not constitute an offense under either statute.”
Oakwood Labs. LLC v. Bagavathikanun Thanoo, 999 F.3d 892 (3rd Cir. 2021). “18 U.S.C. § 1832 ; see id. § 1832(a) (explaining that liability for theft of a trade secret includes anyone “with intent to convert a trade secret … to the economic benefit of anyone other than the [trade secret] owner[,]” who “know[s] that the offense will[ ] injure” the owner,…”
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— 18 U.S.C. § 1832(a) — 1 case
AptarGroup, Inc. v. Chamulak (N.D. Ill. 2019).
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