Key facts
- A federal judge partially overturned the conviction of former Google engineer Linwei Ding.
- Ding was found guilty in January of stealing AI trade secrets and economic espionage.
- The judge ruled there was insufficient evidence to support the economic espionage charges.
- The conviction for theft of trade secrets remains.
- Ding is scheduled for sentencing on September 1.
A federal judge has partially overturned the conviction of Linwei Ding, a former Google software engineer found guilty of stealing artificial intelligence trade secrets. U.S. District Court Judge Vince Chhabria in San Francisco ruled on Thursday that there was insufficient evidence to support the seven counts of economic espionage, stating Ding did not intend or know his actions would benefit the government of China. However, the judge upheld the conviction on charges of theft of trade secrets, for which Ding was found guilty in January after an 11-day trial.
Ding, a Chinese national, was accused of stealing thousands of pages of confidential information related to Google's AI model training hardware and software. Prosecutors alleged that Ding began stealing information three years after joining Google in May 2019, when he was being recruited by an early-stage Chinese technology company. Each economic espionage charge carried a maximum of 15 years in prison and a $5 million fine, while trade secret charges carried a maximum of 10 years and a $250,000 fine.
Ding's lawyers had sought his acquittal, arguing the Justice Department failed to prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt. Ding, also known as Leon Ding, is scheduled to be sentenced on September 1. An attorney for Ding expressed gratification with the ruling, while the Justice Department had no immediate comment.