Data theft case may test US, China ties

The outcome has implications not only for American Superconductor but for the alternative energy industry and the Massachusetts economy. Earlier this year, American Superconductor cut nearly one-third of its workforce.

“Massachusetts jobs are at stake and so is the future of Sino-American collaboration in this [alternative energy] sector,’’ said Senator John F. Kerry, a Massachusetts Democrat who is Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman. “American businesses won’t make investments there if this can happen to them.’’

The situation highlights long-running tensions between the United States and China over protecting intellectual property, from hardware to software to movies on DVDs. For the past decade, China has been the top source of intellectual property rights violations, a report by US customs, immigration, and border protection officials found.

Major US corporations, such as Microsoft Corp., Motorola Inc., and Cisco Systems Inc., have pursued cases against Chinese companies over intellectual property, winning court judgments or settlements to regain control of their technologies, according to news reports.

Thomas F. Holt Jr., who teaches international intellectual property at Tufts University’s Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, said American Superconductor’s case underscores issues critical for state and federal governments, such as ensuring that companies making advances in the promising green technology sector are protected. China has emerged as a top competitor in alternative energy, an innovation sector the United States has hoped to dominate and Massachusetts has aspired to lead.

“With persistent unemployment in the United States, any action by China that overtly deprives Americans of jobs is a hot political issue,’’ Holt said. “And if you combine that with the fact that it involves green technology, this story becomes even more compelling.’’