Trade secrets

Seven People Charged With Conspiring to Steal Trade Secrets For Benefit of Chinese Manufacturing Company

  According to an affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint, the trade secrets were stolen in order to benefit a manufacturer located in China; this manufacturer was the only shareholder for a company that had been incorporated in Houston. Between in or about 2012 and the present, the affidavit alleges that the Chinese manufacturer and employees of its Houston-based company engaged in a systematic campaign to steal the trade secrets of a global engineering firm, referred to in the affidavit as “Company A,” that was a leader in marine technology.

     The case involves the development of a technical product called syntactic foam, a strong, light material that can be tailored for commercial and military uses, such as oil exploration; aerospace; underwater vehicles, such as submarines; and stealth technology. According to the affidavit, the Chinese manufacturer intended to sell syntactic foam to both military and civilian, state-owned enterprises in China – part of a push toward meeting China’s national goals of developing its marine engineering industry.