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FIRST CORPORATE SENTENCING UNDER THE ECONOMIC ESPIONAGE ACT

WASHINGTON, D.C. --Four Pillars Enterprises Ltd., a Taiwanese adhesives company, its former CEO and the CEO's daughter were sentenced today in the culmination of the first case brought to trial under the Economic Espionage Act of 1996.

U.S. District Judge Peter C. Economus, in Youngstown, Ohio, ordered Four Pillars to pay the statutory maximum fine under the Economic Espionage Act of $5 million. Pin Yen Yang, 74, its former CEO, was sentenced to six months home confinement, a fine of $250,000, and an additional 18 months of probation. Sally Yang, his daughter and a former company executive, was sentenced to one year probation and a fine of $5,000.

On April 28, 1999, each of the three defendants were convicted of two counts of theft of trade secrets by conspiring and attempting to steal company secrets for adhesive technology developed by Avery Dennison, a global leader in developing and manufacturing pressure sensitive adhesives.

The evidence introduced at trial demonstrated that the defendants had been secretly paying an Avery research scientist named Victor Lee for eight years to provide them with adhesive formulas and other confidential technical know-how belonging to Avery. In September 1997, Dr. Lee, after admitting to participating with the defendants in a scheme to defraud Avery Dennison, agreed to allow the FBI to videotape a meeting between himself and the defendants in a hotel room in Westlake, Ohio. During that meeting, the defendants received an adhesive formula from Dr. Lee, cut off the markings that identified it as confidential Avery property, and hid it in a briefcase. "The imposition of the statutory maximum fine of $ 5 million should make it perfectly clear that corporate espionage is unlawful and will be aggressively investigated, prosecuted and punished," said Jim Robinson, Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division.

Martha Stansell-Gamm, Chief of the Criminal Division's Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, expressed her appreciation to Avery Dennison for reporting the crime to the FBI and for their assistance and support throughout the investigation and prosecution of this case.

On November 8, 1999, Dr. Lee - who had pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud for defrauding Avery Dennison of its rights to the faithful services of its employee - was sentenced to serve six months in a community confinement center and six months home detention for his role in the unlawful scheme.

The case was prosecuted by David Green, Marc Zwillinger and Rodolofo Orjales of the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section of the Department of Justice.

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