Man Sentenced for Conspiring to Commit Trade Secret Theft from Corning Inc.

ROCHESTER, NY—U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Yeong C. Lin, 71, of Fountain Valley, California, was sentenced to 30 months in prison and a $1000 fine by U.S. District Court Judge Charles J. Siragusa for conspiracy to commit theft of trade secrets.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Tiffany H. Lee, who handled the case, stated that between December 1999 and 2002, the defendant agreed with others to take, without authorization, trade secret information belonging to Corning Inc. The information involved Corning's Thin Film Transistor ("TFT") Liquid Crystal Display ("LCD") glass production process. Lin admitted that he acted on behalf of a Taiwanese corporation that was interested in manufacturing TFT LCD glass to compete with Corning.

"As we go forward into the 21st century, the value of the unique and creative ideas of a person or company will often times become the difference between those who succeed commercially, and those who fail," said U.S. Attorney Hochul. "For these and other reasons, this office is committed to protecting the hard work and intellectual property of all of who call our region home."

The sentencing was the culmination of an investigation on the part of special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James H. Robertson.

Today's sentencing is part of a larger department-wide effort led by the Department of Justice Task Force on Intellectual Property (IP Task Force). Attorney General Eric Holder created the IP Task Force to combat the growing number of domestic and international intellectual property crimes, protect the health and safety of American consumers, and safeguard the nation's economic security against those who seek to profit illegally from American creativity, innovation, and hard work. The IP Task Force seeks to strengthen intellectual property rights protection through heightened criminal and civil enforcement; greater coordination among federal, state, and local law enforcement partners; and increased focus on international enforcement efforts, including reinforcing relationships with key foreign partners and U.S. industry leaders. To learn more about the IP Task Force, go to http://www.justice.gov/dag/iptaskforce/.