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ARTICLE · 29 APRIL 2016

Congress Passes The Defend Trade Secrets Act

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On April 4, 2016, the Senate unanimously passed the Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 (DTSA), S. 1890, a bill to create the first federal civil remedy for trade secret misappropriation. - See more at: https://www.ropesgray.com/newsroom/alerts/2016/April/Congress-Passes-the-Defend-Trade-Secrets-Act.aspx#sthash.JVq7LLgW.dpuf

United StatesIntellectual Property

On April 4, 2016, the Senate unanimously passed the Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 (DTSA), S. 1890, a bill to create the first federal civil remedy for trade secret misappropriation. On April 27, following consideration "under suspension of the rules," the House of Representatives overwhelmingly voted to pass the Senate version of the DTSA, by a vote of 410-2. The White House issued a statement earlier this month that the Administration strongly supports the bill, so it is expected that President Obama will soon sign the DTSA into law.

Preexisting Trade Secret Law

The preexisting legal landscape provides the federal district courts with original jurisdiction only over criminal trade secret theft, while civil trade secret claims have been governed exclusively by state law. For many decades, this distinction has separated the protection afforded to trade secrets from other intellectual property rights, such as patents, copyrights, and trademarks. The DTSA will thus

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