Just to clarify, I didn't call it "regulatory capture". I asked for a term that fits better. Your suggestion of "the history of the world" cuts open that term'

Just to clarify, I didn't call it "regulatory capture". I asked for a term that fits better. Your suggestion of "the history of the world" cuts open that term's torso and spills its entrails onto the street. ("eviscerates"? really? that was unnecessary.) On a more substantive point, it's absolutely not a "no-brainer" for the FBI and DOJ to be using FISA court surveillance laws to prevent this. Even if they capture 9/10 of the people sent to gather seeds, which is generous, then it would only take a few dozen plane tickets and rental cars for Chinese corporations to steal all the information they need. Getting a few example cases into the courts so that we have high-profile proof is useful for state-level negotiation, maybe, but it's not going to prevent the theft.