The Economic Espionage Act defines economic espionage as theft or misappropriation of a trade secret with the intent to benefit which entities?

• A. Foreign government, foreign instrumentality, or foreign agent
• B. Domestic corporations
• C. Any government entity
• D. The act does not define such

Answer: (A)

Economic espionage under the Economic Espionage Act is about theft or misappropriation of a trade secret with the intent to benefit a foreign power. The key requirement is that the beneficiary is a foreign government, a foreign instrumentality (an entity controlled by or acting on behalf of a foreign government), or a foreign agent (someone acting for a foreign government). This focus on foreign beneficiaries is what defines economic espionage in the statute.

If the motive is to benefit a domestic company or private individual, that falls under other trade-secret offenses rather than economic espionage as defined by the Act. The law does indeed specify the foreign-beneficiary scope, and it does not apply to merely any government or to domestic beneficiaries.