豆腐
加入时间: 2004/02/14
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作者：豆腐 在 驴鸣镇 发贴, 来自 http://www.hjclub.org
Materials Science:
DuPont Scientist Accused of Stealing Company's Trade Secrets
Robert F. Service
A Chinese-born scientist, one of the leading researchers in the field of next-generation display technologies, has been fired by DuPont, which alleges he attempted to steal company secrets. The scientist, Hong Meng, now faces both a civil lawsuit from the company and a criminal investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice. If charged with criminal wrongdoing, Meng could face up to 10 years in jail and a $5 million fine.
The case marks the second time in less than 4 years that DuPont has filed suit against a researcher with ties to China. In November 2006, Gary Min, a former researcher at the company, admitted to stealing company data valued by federal officials at $400 million. Min pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 18 months in prison.
Meng, a permanent resident of the United States, earned his master's degree from Peking University in Beijing in 1995 and his Ph.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), in 2002. DuPont hired Meng in November 2002 to work on organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), a technology that recent industry reports suggest could swell to a $7.1 billion market by 2016.
Meng worked at DuPont's central research facility in Wilmington, Delaware. But according to court documents filed in the Delaware Court of the Chancery on 21 August, he was preparing to transfer to work for the company in China. As part of a review for this transfer, company officials examined his computer hard drive and discovered an "illicit connection" to Peking University. According to the lawsuit, Meng had accepted a position at the university. And an investigation of his laptop and personal computer revealed that Meng had downloaded confidential company material. "It was also confirmed through a review of documents on the computer that Dr. Meng has engaged in a surreptitious relationship with Peking University over a long period of time, and that he plans to launch or already has launched a program with Peking University aimed at commercializing OLED technology for industrial applications in direct competition with DuPont," the lawsuit states.
"Hong Meng's employment with the company was terminated and we promptly filed suit to ensure that he not use or disclose DuPont trade secrets," said Thomas L. Sager, DuPont's senior vice president and general counsel, in a written statement. Meng could not be reached for comment. His lawyer, Joseph Bernstein of Bonita Springs, Florida, said that Meng is cooperating with the Justice Department investigation. "It's an unfortunate situation for everyone involved," Bernstein says.
Fred Wudl, a chemist at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and Meng's Ph.D. adviser at UCLA, says that Meng was one of the best students he's ever had. "He's a very inventive guy," Wudl says. "He was very straight arrow in the group."
Another friend and chemistry colleague of Meng's who asked not to be identified says that Meng is being "mistreated" and that the case arose from a misunderstanding. Meng's colleague says that at DuPont, Meng invented improved OLED materials that shine blue light and was working to patent them for the company. The company files Meng downloaded were simply to help in filing the patents. As for the "illicit" relationship with Peking University, Meng's colleague says that Meng was looking into accepting a position with the university and had written a standard and somewhat boilerplate proposal listing areas his group would work on. Meng's colleague adds that Meng was aware that his employee agreement with DuPont meant he was not allowed to develop competing technology. "He had no intention to do so."
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/sci;325/5947/1485-a?maxtoshow=&HITS=10&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&fulltext=dupont+scientist&searchid=1&FIRSTINDEX=0&resourcetype=HWCIT
作者：豆腐 在 驴鸣镇 发贴, 来自 http://www.hjclub.org |
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