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ECONOMIC SPIES INCREASE ACTIVITY IN U.S.

Economics Graphic January 12, 1998 Web posted at: 11:38 a.m. EST (1638 GMT)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -- Governments of at least 23 countries including Germany, Russia, China, France and Israel have stepped up their economic espionage against U.S.-based companies, the Los Angeles Times, quoting the FBI, reported Monday.

The newspaper said a new survey conducted by the American Society for Industrial Security estimated that intellectual property losses from foreign and domestic espionage may have exceeded $300 billion in 1997 alone.

More than 1,100 documented incidents of economic espionage and 550 suspected incidents that could not be fully documented were reported last year by major companies in a survey conducted by the society, The Los Angeles Times said. It said it had obtained results of the survey which was scheduled to be released Wednesday.

A 1996 Economic Espionage Act makes theft of proprietary economic information in the United States a felony punishable by a $10 million fine and 15-year prison sentence.

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