DoJ dismisses robotics trade secrets theft case

The US Department of Justice (DoJ) has dropped its case against a dual citizen of Canada and China who was charged in connection with attempting to steal trade secrets.

In August, Dong Liu was charged with one count of attempted theft of trade secrets and one count of attempted access to a computer without authorisation.

According to the DoJ, Liu had attempted to steal trade secrets from Medrobotics Corporation.

Medrobotics is a company that “manufactures and markets a unique robot-assisted device that provides surgeons with access to, and visualisation of, hard-to-reach places in the human body for minimally invasive surgery”.

The DoJ said that Liu was arrested by police after the CEO of Medrobotics had found him in a company conference room with three laptops.

Liu claimed he was there to meet executives, including the CEO himself, said the DoJ.

Liu’s lawyer, Robert Goldstein, of Goldstein Law Firm, argued that the “strength of the evidence is far from substantial”, in a memorandum in support of release.

Filed in September, the memorandum said that Liu was “entirely cooperative with local law enforcement”.

Goldstein added that Liu had disclosed to police that he was associated with a patent law firm in China.

The memorandum went on to say that Liu was the victim of a car accident in 2012 and he had suffered traumatic brain injury.

Since the accident, Liu has “struggled to accept his intellectual mediocrity”, said Goldstein.

“And, we do not jail individuals because they have suffered traumatic brain injury and lost a brilliance that few human beings ever have the fortune of experiencing,” the memorandum added.

Federal prosecutors didn’t explain why the case was dismissed on Friday, October 27.

“In support of this dismissal, the government states that based on further investigation, dismissal without prejudice is in the interests of justice,” said the government’s motion to dismiss.

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