Micron Technology asserts trade secret and RICO claims, establishes U.S. jurisdiction over foreign defendants under DTSA

Client(s) Micron Technology, Inc.

Jones Day represented Micron Technology, Inc. as a plaintiff in a trade secret and RICO lawsuit against Taiwanese and Chinese entities accused of theft of Micron's semiconductor processing technology.

In a May 2, 2019 decision on an issue of first impression involving foreign actors under the Defend Trade Secrets Act ("DTSA"), the court held that Micron established personal jurisdiction over the foreign defendants. The district court found that the defendants committed requisite "acts in furtherance" of misappropriation in the U.S. by conducting employee recruitment and holding supplier meetings in California. The district court further held that Micron sufficiently proved the defendants subjected themselves to U.S. jurisdiction based on the downloading of Micron trade secrets from U.S. servers and filing patent applications at the USPTO based on Micron's trade secrets. This precedent-setting opinion orders the two foreign defendant entities subject to the U.S. court's jurisdiction.

Micron Technology, Inc. v. United Microelectronics Corporation, et al., No. 4-17-cv-06932 (N.D. Cal.)