China Tied To Theft Of Trade Secrets

Federal prosecutors charged last week that Chinese government officials played a role in the theft, from DuPont, of technology to manufacture the paint pigment titanium dioxide. According to a document filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, FBI officials found letters in a search of the home of Walter Liew that show he “was tasked by representatives of the People’s Republic of China government to obtain technology used to build chloride-route titanium dioxide factories.” The search took place in July 2011 after DuPont filed a civil complaint earlier in the year against Liew and his California-based company, USA Performance Technology, alleging they embezzled and sold technology for making the white pigment to a Chinese competitor. In August, federal prosecutors indicted Liew on charges of witness and evidence tampering and making false statements.