South Carolina § 39-8-90 - Persons guilty of stealing trade secrets; criminal penalties.

§ 39-8-90. Persons guilty of stealing trade secrets; criminal penalties.

(A) A person, with intent to or reason to believe that it will injure an owner and benefit a person other than the owner, shall be fined not more than $100,000 or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both, if he:

(1) steals, wrongfully appropriates, takes, carries away, or conceals, or by fraud, artifice, or deception obtains trade secrets;

(2) wrongfully copies, duplicates, sketches, draws, photographs, downloads, uploads, alters, destroys, photocopies, replicates, transmits, delivers, sends, mails, communicates, or conveys trade secrets;

(3) receives, buys, or possesses trade secrets, knowing the trade secrets have been obtained by any means described in items (1) or (2);

(4) attempts to commit any offense described in items (1) through (3);

(5) wrongfully solicits another to commit any offense described in items (1) through (3); or

(6) conspires with one or more other persons to commit any offense described in items (1) through (3), and where one of the conspirators performs an act to further the conspiracy.

(B) In a prosecution for any violation of subsection (A) of this section the court must, pursuant to Section 39-8-100, preserve the secrecy of an alleged trade secret.

HISTORY: 1997 Act No. 38, SECTION 1, eff May 21, 1997.