The US federal court has thrown out parts of the conviction of Linwei Ding, who works as a software engineer at Google. In early 2019, Ding was convicted of stealing secret artificial intelligence information from Google to help two Chinese firms.In the ruling of US District Court Judge Vince Chhabria of San Francisco, it is stated that the prosecution did not produce enough evidence to prove that Ding knowingly or intentionally stole information for the benefit of China’s government. This decision relates to the seven charges of economic espionage that were filed against Ding.About The AuthorJournalist and a writer with a strong interest in news, culture, technology, and human-interest stories. Passionate about making complex topics accessible and engaging.Nevertheless, the judge held that there was enough evidence for the separate conviction on charges of stealing trade secrets. Linwei Ding is also known as Leon Ding, was originally found guilty in January following an 11-day trial.Judge finds insufficient evidence for economic espionage chargesDing, a Chinese national, was found guilty of seven counts of economic espionage and seven counts of trade secret theft on charges brought against him by the prosecutors for stealing thousands of pages of secret Google documents.Just three weeks after being convicted, Ding’s legal team submitted an appeal arguing that there was no reasonable proof presented by the United States Department of Justice of the criminal acts charged against him.This latest ruling will have Ding no longer charged with economic espionage counts since there would have been a need to prove that he stole the documents at the behest of the Chinese government. However, the theft of trade secrets charges will remain.This is significant because the two categories of crimes attract different punishments. The maximum punishment for each of the seven economic espionage counts is 15 years imprisonment and a fine of $5 million. On the other hand, the maximum punishment for each trade secret theft count is 10 years imprisonment and a fine of $250,000.According to the court docket, Ding will be sentenced on September 1.More articles by AuthorTrending StoriesDing’s lawyer stated that he was delighted with the latest ruling. The United States Department of Justice did not respond immediately.What did Ding allegedly steal from Google?Ding had been indicted in March 2024, while his superseding indictment came in February 2025.The prosecution accused Ding of stealing information regarding the hardware architecture and software platform of the supercomputing data centers that Google uses to train AI models.Some of the confidential information also consisted of chip-related designs, which according to the prosecution could help Google gain an edge over its cloud computing rivals like Amazon and Microsoft. Google creates its own hardware for computing purposes and also tries to rely less on the chips manufactured by Nvidia.The example illustrates how significant the infrastructure behind generative AI is becoming. Developing large-scale AI models requires massive computing power, thereby making chips and data center infrastructure and software coordinating these systems critical for major tech firms.How did the alleged theft happen?Ding joined Google in May 2019, but it took him around three years before prosecutors accused him of stealing confidential information.At the time, it is said that he was being considered for recruitment at an early stage Chinese technology firm. The prosecutors alleged that Ding leaked thousands of pages of confidential information from Google.It later formed a part of a larger strategy of the US government to safeguard sensitive artificial intelligence technology from getting into the hands of the rivals.Google was not charged with any wrongdoing in this particular incident. It had cooperated with the law enforcement agency in this regard.What happens to Ding now?This latest court decision is not a complete exoneration of Ding. The conviction for theft of trade secrets is not affected, and he can still receive serious criminal punishment if sentenced.The court instead limits the convictions by dismissing the economic espionage charges since the prosecution failed to prove intent or knowledge on the part of the individual for the benefit of the Chinese government.Ding's sentencing is currently scheduled for September 1. The final punishment will depend on the remaining convictions and the court's assessment of the case.The ruling also illustrates the legal distinction between stealing corporate trade secrets and economic espionage. While the court found sufficient evidence that confidential Google information was taken, it concluded that the evidence did not establish the additional requirement needed to sustain the economic espionage convictions. FAQsWho is Linwei Ding?Linwei Ding, also known as Leon Ding, is a former Google software engineer who was convicted of stealing confidential information related to the company's AI technology and infrastructure.What happened to Ding’s conviction?A US federal judge has overturned the seven economic espionage convictions against Ding, ruling that prosecutors did not provide enough evidence to show that he intended or knew his actions would benefit the Chinese government. His separate trade secret theft convictions remain intact.What was Ding accused of stealing?Prosecutors said Ding stole thousands of pages of confidential information covering the hardware infrastructure and software platforms used by Google's supercomputing data centres to train large AI models.When was Ding found guilty?Ding was found guilty in January 2026 following an 11-day trial. He was convicted on seven counts of economic espionage and seven counts of theft of trade secrets.Why were the economic espionage convictions overturned?Judge Vince Chhabria found insufficient evidence that Ding intended or knew that his actions would benefit the Chinese government, which was a requirement for the economic espionage charges.end of article