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Former Employee Stole Ford Secrets Worth $50 Million
chicksdaddy writes "A ten year veteran of US automaker Ford pleaded guilty in federal court on November 17 to charges that he stole company secrets, including design documents, valued at between $50 million and $100 million, and shared them with his new employer: the Chinese division of a US rival of Ford's. Xiang Dong ('Mike') Yu admitted to copying some 4,000 Ford Documents to an external hard drive, including design specifications for key components of Ford automobiles, after surreptitiously taking a job with a China-based competitor in 2006. Yu, who took a job for Beijing Automotive Company in 2008, was arrested during a stopover at Chicago in October, 2009. The FBI seized his Beijing Automotive-issued laptop, and an analysis found 41 stolen Ford specification documents on the hard drive. He faces five to six years in prison and a $150,000 fine (PDF)."
valued at between $50 million and $100 million
That's probably an inflated value. When companies get burned like this, they generally vastly overstate the value of the stolen goods.
and shared them with his new employer: the Chinese division of a US rival of Ford's.
Hello boys and girls. Can you say "tip of the iceberg?" I knew you could.
He faces five to six years in prison and a $150,000 fine (PDF).
Good. And before we judge if that seems too harsh a punishment, I would ask if anyone knows what the Chinese government would do to an American engineer who did the same thing to a Chinese company.
The higher the technology, the sharper that two-edged sword.
The FBI seized his Beijing Automotive-issued laptop, and an analysis found 41 stolen Ford specification documents on the hard drive.
Dear "Mike",
When you get out, and if you decide to again play industrial spy, try this
The higher the technology, the sharper that two-edged sword.
have bad power steering pumps and short life torque converters from now on?
(sorry, had to go there, the problems I've had to deal with on my own/families/friends Fords the most)
The preceding post was not a Slashvertisement.
Are you real asking why is theft illegal?
Small potatoes
"Lopez was head of purchasing for GM and defected abruptly to VW in 1993. GM accused Lopez of masterminding the theft of more than 20 boxes of documents on research, manufacturing and sales. The world's largest international corporate espionage case officially ended in 1997, when VW admitted no wrongdoing but settled the civil suit by agreeing to pay GM $100 million in cash and spend $1 billion on GM parts over seven years.
Advice: on VPS providers
Ford's been doing better. Over the last decade, they've built up some engineer teams in Europe (is it flamebait to say they are better because they are away from US unions?) who really are doing top notch work. The Fusion, for example, ranked #1 in its category for reliability. The Mustang has 300 horsepower at 30 MPG. I own a Honda, but if Ford continues the direction they're going, my next car may well be a Ford. Now if only they would do something about that horrid logo.....
Qxe4
When trade secrets are involved it's called theft, not copyright infringement.
"Theft" is when the original owner is deprived by the action. In this case, the trade secrets were stolen, because the original owner was deprived of the secret (as its not secret any more).
It doesn't hurt to be nice.
The U.S. Economic Espionage Act of 1996, which became effective on January 1, 1997, makes theft or misappropriation of trade secrets a federal crime.
There are 4 boxes to use in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, ammo. Use in that order. Starting now.
- hard at work stealing our information and creative processes. People (that includes politicians + CEOs) just tend to forget that China is not some quaint country that has rules of law and enforces those laws. This is a state run government and economy - anything goes to enrich the state and acrue power. We've already sent most of our production machines over there - now they are coming back to collect any intellectual property they can grab as well.
They are starting to eat our lunch and will shortly just take our lunch money
And contrary to some comments -- Ford makes some damn fine vehicles -- I dearly miss my 2001 F-150 4x4 - great truck
Its not the years, its the mileage
>>Europe (is it flamebait to say they are better because they are away from US unions?)
Probably yes, because:
1) Workers in good old Europe have stronger unions than the withering joke the U.S. has.
2) European workers enjoy a terrific safety net which looks like the great wall of china compared to the spider web the U.S. wage slaves have. Never underestimate explosion of creativity in a geek who feels safe for economic future of his family.
"five to six years in prison and a $150,000 fine"
Can you imagine how awfully unbalanced it would seem if people got lesser sentences for causing death by dangerous driving?