Intellectual Property News

Guilty Plea In Trade Secrets Case

Colm F. Connolly, United States Attorney for the District of Delaware; William D. Chase, Special Agent in Charge of the Baltimore Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Field Office; and Darryl W. Jackson, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Enforcement, announced today the unsealing of a one-count Criminal Information charging GARY MIN, a.k.a. Yonggang Min, with stealing trade secrets from E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company ("DuPont"). MIN pleaded guilty to the charge on November 13, 2006. The offense carries a maximum prison sentence of 10 years, a fine of up to $250,000, and restitution.

Pursuant to the terms of the plea agreement, MIN admitted that he misappropriated DuPont's proprietary trade secrets without the company's consent and agreed to cooperate with the government.

According to facts recited by the government and acknowledged by MIN at MIN's guilty plea hearing, MIN began working for DuPont as a research chemist in November 1995. Throughout his tenure at DuPont, MIN's research focused generally on polyimides, a category of heat and chemical resistant polymers, and more specifically on high-performance films. Beginning in July 2005, MIN began discussions with Victrex PLC about possible employment opportunities in Asia. Victrex manufactures PEEK™, a polymer compound that is a functional competitor with two DuPont products, Vespel® and Kapton®. On October 18, 2005, MIN signed an employment agreement with Victrex, with his employment set to begin in January 2006. MIN did not tell DuPont that he had accepted a job with Victrex, however, until December 12, 2005. Read more at bis.doc.gov

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