IP Law: Trade Secrets

There are two main sources of trade secret law: the Uniform Trade Secrets Act (UTSA) and the federal Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA). Traditionally, trade secrets were governed by state common law, however, now almost every state has adopted the 1985 UTSA (only New-York has not adopted the UTSA in any form). Many states adopted the law verbatim, while others adopted it but made changes where necessary. As a result, the state laws governing trade secrets are similar, but still have differences worth investigating. The 50 State Survey practical guide provides a comprehensive overview of each states' statutory and case law. 

In 2016 Congress enacted the DTSA, which created a civil federal remedy for trade secret misappropriation largely modeled on the UTSA. The DTSA --in theory-- creates a uniform body of federal law governing trade secrets akin to the well-developed protections for copyright, patents, and trademarks. 

Other important pieces of legislation to consider are:

The Economic Espionage Act (EEA) is another important piece of legislation for trade secret law. The EEA was enacted in 1996 and was the first piece of federal legislation created to protect trade secrets. The EEA imposes criminal penalties for economic espionage and trade secret theft. Congress created the EEA as a response to growing threats from foreign governments and other actors who posed a threat in the high-technology, information age.

And likewise, the Computer Fraud & Abuse Act The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act ("CFAA") provides criminal sanctions and civil actions for misappropriating trade secrets stored on protected computers.