Trade secrets bill nears completion after House approval
The US House of Representatives has passed a bill that promises to give victims of trade secrets theft the power to sue in a federal court, bringing laws into line with other forms of intellectual property.
The bill was passed by 410 votes to 2 yesterday, April 27. Earlier this month, it was passed by the Senate by 87 votes to 0.
Under the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) owners of trade secrets will be able to secure federal relief for the misappropriation of their knowledge as opposed to going through individual state courts.
Also, under “extraordinary circumstances”, a judge may order the seizure of another party’s property in order to “prevent the propagation or dissemination of the trade secret that is the subject of the action”.
Robert Milligan, partner at law firm Seyfarth Shaw, said: “This is a very significant day for trade secret law.”
“The federal courts will now be open to trade secret owners when their valuable information is wrongfully taken. The legislation provides for robust remedies to protect trade secret owners from rogue business partners or employees who purloin valuable company information,” he added.
Tony Stiegler, partner at law firm Cooley, added: “The DTSA will also bring a potentially strong new remedy to trade secret cases: the ex parte seizure of misappropriated trade secrets and the tools and data associated with the complained of conduct.
“The act is meant to empower federal courts and trade secret theft victims with the power to seize evidence before it has the chance to be spirited away or destroyed by defendants. How this remedy will be used in practice will be hotly litigated and subject certainly to strict judicial review.”
The bill will still have to be signed into law by US President Barack Obama but he has already publicly backed the bill.
WIPR has been closely following the bill’s passage. You can read our stories on the developments below.
Trade secrets bill introduced to US Senate
US Senate urged to introduce trade secrets bill
US trade secret reform: an efficient way of protecting ideas
Senate Judiciary Committee clears bi-partisan trade secrets bill
