Key Takeaways:
Judge Vince Chhabria vacated all seven economic espionage counts against former Google engineer Linwei Ding, ruling prosecutors did not prove he intended to benefit the Chinese government.
The seven trade secret theft convictions stand, covering thousands of pages on the chips and software that train Google's AI models.
Ding is set for sentencing on September 1, and the split verdict narrows how far US economic espionage law reaches into ordinary corporate theft.
A federal judge in San Francisco tossed the economic espionage case against former Google software engineer Linwei Ding on Thursday, Reuters reported, while leaving his trade secret theft convictions in place.
US District Judge Vince Chhabria found insufficient evidence that Ding knew or intended his conduct to benefit the government of China, the element prosecutors have to prove for economic espionage. He let stand the seven counts of stealing trade secrets that a jury convicted Ding of in January after an 11-day trial.
The distinction carries real weight. Each economic espionage count carried up to 15 years in prison and a $5 million fine. Each trade secret count carries up to 10 years and a $250,000 fine. Ding, also known as Leon Ding, is scheduled to be sentenced on September 1.
Prosecutors said Ding joined Google in 2019 and began copying thousands of pages of confidential material three years later, while an early-stage Chinese technology company was courting him. The files described the hardware and software behind the supercomputing data centers Google uses to train its large AI models, the kind of blueprint that reduces a company's reliance on Nvidia chips. The US Department of Justice first indicted him in March 2024 and expanded the charges in 2025.
The ruling draws a line that will matter as governments treat AI models, chip designs, and training systems as national assets. Stealing the technology was provable. Proving it was meant for a foreign state was not.
That gap between corporate theft and state benefit runs through the same accountability stories the newsroom has tracked, from the DOJ's case against 17 Mabna Institute hackers accused of stealing university research for Iran to the scrutiny over restricted Chinese AI models sold through a Hong Kong platform. The technology moves fast. Proving who it was really for moves slowly. Worth watching.
People Also Ask
What did the judge rule in the Linwei Ding case?
Judge Vince Chhabria vacated seven economic espionage convictions, finding prosecutors did not prove Ding intended to benefit China, but he upheld seven trade secret theft convictions.
What did Linwei Ding steal from Google?
Prosecutors said he copied thousands of pages describing the hardware and software behind the data centers Google uses to train its AI models.
What is the difference between trade secret theft and economic espionage?
Trade secret theft covers stealing confidential business information, while economic espionage requires proof the theft was intended to benefit a foreign government.
When will Linwei Ding be sentenced?
He is scheduled to be sentenced on September 1, 2026, with each remaining trade secret count carrying up to 10 years in prison.
Sources: Reuters, US Department of Justice.