Congress Weighs New Weapon in Fight Against Business Data Theft
Theft of U.S. corporate trade secrets costs companies an estimated $160 billion to $480 billion annually. The Defend Trade Secrets Act, a bipartisan bill introduced by Senator Chris Coons (D-Del) and Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) on April 29, would create a federal private right-of-action to combat these losses.
“The intellectual property that drives the U.S. economy has never been more valuable, or more vulnerable. American companies are losing jobs because of the theft of trade secrets every day. Congress should step in now to stop the hemorrhaging of jobs and revenue being lost to the theft of trade secrets by passing the Defend Trade Secrets Act,” said Senator Coons.
Unlike other forms of intellectual property, i.e. patents, trademarks, and copyright, there is currently no federal private right of action for trade secret misappropriation. The Defend Trade Secret Act would build upon the Economic Espionage Act to provide a uniform law across state boundaries and facilitate enforcement against international theft. Currently, the Economic Espionage Act only provides for criminal penalties. Under the existing law, just 25 criminal cases were brought by the U.S. Department of Justice for trade secret misappropriation last year.
It is anticipated that the creation of a private right of action would cause the number of trade secret cases filed in federal court to soar and provide intellectual property owners with an effective tool to help them protect their valuable assets. The bill is supported by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers, and numerous U.S. corporations including Caterpillar, GE, DuPont, Eli Lilly, Boeing, Micron, Medtronic, Microsoft, P&G, 3M, and Boston Scientific.
©2023 Carlton Fields, P.A. Carlton Fields practices law in California through Carlton Fields, LLP. Carlton Fields publications should not be construed as legal advice on any specific facts or circumstances. The contents are intended for general information and educational purposes only, and should not be relied on as if it were advice about a particular fact situation. The distribution of this publication is not intended to create, and receipt of it does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship with Carlton Fields. This publication may not be quoted or referred to in any other publication or proceeding without the prior written consent of the firm, to be given or withheld at our discretion. To request reprint permission for any of our publications, please use our Contact Us form via the link below. The views set forth herein are the personal views of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the firm. This site may contain hypertext links to information created and maintained by other entities. Carlton Fields does not control or guarantee the accuracy or completeness of this outside information, nor is the inclusion of a link to be intended as an endorsement of those outside sites.