Court Opinion

ID: 9915538
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2024-01-05 18:00:34.522942+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:15:31.471534
License: Public Domain

NOT FOR PUBLICATION                           FILED
                    UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS                        JAN 5 2024
                                                                     MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
                                                                       U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
                           FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,                       No.   22-10305

                Plaintiff-Appellee,             D.C. No.
                                                5:17-cr-00603-BLF-2
 v.

DONALD OLGADO,                                  MEMORANDUM*

                Defendant-Appellant.

                   Appeal from the United States District Court
                       for the Northern District of California
                  Beth Labson Freeman, District Judge, Presiding

                    Argued and Submitted December 13, 2023
                            San Francisco, California

Before: GOULD, KOH, and DESAI, Circuit Judges.

      Donald Olgado appeals his conviction for eleven counts of possession of

stolen trade secrets. While Mr. Olgado was employed by Applied Materials, Inc.

(“Applied”), he downloaded several thousand files containing trade secrets onto his

external drive. The government argued that he downloaded the files to replicate one

of Applied’s products for the benefit of an unauthorized spinoff company. A jury

      *
             This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3.
found Mr. Olgado guilty on all eleven counts of possession of stolen trade secrets,

and the district court denied Mr. Olgado’s motion for judgment of acquittal.

      Mr. Olgado challenges the sufficiency of the evidence for three elements of

his conviction. He also challenges the district court’s refusal to give his requested

jury instruction and the constitutionality of the trade secret theft statute as applied to

him. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291, and we affirm.

      1. A rational factfinder could conclude that the government proved the

elements of possession of stolen trade secrets beyond a reasonable doubt. We review

de novo a district court’s denial of a motion for judgment of acquittal based on

insufficient evidence. United States v. Amintobia, 57 F.4th 687, 697 (9th Cir. 2023).

When evaluating the sufficiency of the evidence, we view the evidence in the light

most favorable to the government and presume that the jury resolved any conflicting

inferences in favor of the government. United States v. Nevils, 598 F.3d 1158, 1164

(9th Cir. 2010) (en banc).

      First, a rational factfinder could conclude that Mr. Olgado possessed the files

that he downloaded to his external drive. To prove possession, the government

needed to demonstrate that Mr. Olgado had (1) knowledge of the files, and (2)

physical control or the power and intent to exercise dominion and control over the

files. See United States v. Romm, 455 F.3d 990, 999–1000 (9th Cir. 2006). Mr.

Olgado acknowledges that he downloaded the files. Thus, there is no dispute that he

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had actual knowledge of their presence. And the government introduced sufficient

evidence to prove that Mr. Olgado could exercise dominion and control over the

files. In addition to downloading the files, Mr. Olgado had the ability to transfer or

send the files, and he did so when he transferred the files from his hard drive to

several DVDs. Mr. Olgado also negotiated a software deal that included the specific

software he needed to view the files.

      Next, a rational factfinder could conclude that Mr. Olgado knew the trade

secret information was obtained or appropriated without authorization. The plain

meaning of “without authorization” is without “permission or power granted by an

authority.” LVRC Holdings LLC v. Brekka, 581 F.3d 1127, 1133 (9th Cir. 2009)

(quoting Random House Unabridged Dictionary, at 139 (2001)). The government

introduced sufficient evidence to prove that Mr. Olgado obtained the files without

permission, including that Applied had a policy prohibiting downloading files to

external drives and that Mr. Olgado knew the policy applied to him. Even accepting

Mr. Olgado’s contention that this element requires a showing of “improper means,”

his circumvention of Applied’s policy and software preventing external downloads

constitutes improper means.

      Last, a rational factfinder could conclude that Mr. Olgado intended to convert

the trade secret information. The statute requires an intent to convert the trade secret

information “to the economic benefit of anyone other than the owner.” 18 U.S.C.

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§ 1832(a). The government presented evidence that Mr. Olgado was involved in

efforts to create an unauthorized spinoff company and that he intended to use the

files to recreate Applied’s products for the benefit of the new company. For example,

Mr. Olgado downloaded nearly 100% of the files needed to recreate Applied’s tool,

estimated that it would take the spinoff significantly less time than it took Applied

to create the product, communicated outside of regular work channels, and lied when

confronted about his actions.

      2. “A criminal defendant has a constitutional right to have the jury instructed

according to his theory of the case,” United States v. Johnson, 459 F.3d 990, 993

(9th Cir. 2006), when the theory “(1) has some foundation in the evidence presented,

(2) is supported by law, and (3) is not adequately covered by other instructions,”

United States v. Barragan, 871 F.3d 689, 710 (9th Cir. 2017). We review de novo

whether an instruction is supported by law. Id. The district court did not err by

declining to adopt Mr. Olgado’s proposed jury instruction because it improperly

added “access” as an element of possession. While access is often probative of

dominion and control, our cases do not require the government to independently

prove access. See United States v. Kuchinski, 469 F.3d 853, 863 (9th Cir. 2006) (a

defendant who lacks knowledge about files and lacks “access to and control over

those files” may still possess the files where there is “some other indication of

dominion and control” over them).

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      3. The trade secret theft statute is not unconstitutional as applied to Mr.

Olgado. When a statute is not facially ambiguous, “due process bars courts from

applying a novel construction” of the statute “to conduct that neither the statute nor

any prior judicial decision has fairly disclosed to be within its scope.” United States

v. Lanier, 520 U.S. 259, 266 (1997). But if “the conduct charged fell [within] the

plain meaning of the statute standing alone,” a prosecution does not violate due

process. United States v. Sineneng-Smith, 982 F.3d 766, 775 (9th Cir. 2020). Mr.

Olgado’s conduct falls squarely within the plain meaning of the statute. See 18 U.S.C

§ 1832(a)(3).

      AFFIRMED.

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