The Department of Justice reports that a manufacturer and exporter of wind turbines based in China has been sentenced to the maximum statutory fine of $1.5 million for stealing trade secrets from a U.S.-based company. According to a DOJ press release, the Chinese company conspired with others to obtain the U.S. company’s copyrighted information and trade secrets to produce its own wind turbines powered by the stolen intellectual property and retrofit existing wind turbines with that technology without paying the U.S. company the more than $800 million it owed for products and services.
The Chinese company was convicted of conspiracy to commit trade secret theft, theft of trade secrets, and wire fraud. The court found that the U.S. company’s losses from the theft exceeded $550 million. The Chinese company has already paid $32.5 million in restitution and will pay another $25 million within a year, as well as $850,000 to additional victims.