Former Dow scientist convicted of selling secrets to China

Former Dow Chemical (DOW.NYSE) scientist Liu Wen has been convicted in a US court of obtaining and selling his employer’s trade secrets to Chinese buyers, the New York Times reported. Evidence showed that Liu received US$500,000 for the trade secrets and was negotiating the sale of another US$4 million worth of information when he was arrested. Another Dow scientist, Huang Kexue, is awaiting trial on charges of economic espionage. In the last 18 months, similar charges have also been filed against engineers at General Motors (GM.NYSE) and Ford (F.NYSE); scientists at Dupont (DD.NYSE) and Valspar have already been convicted of stealing trade secrets.