President Signs Trade Secrets Law

President Obama last week signed the Defend Trade Secrets Act, which allows companies to file suit in federal court over allegations of trade secrets theft.

Trade secret theft was already a federal crime, but without the right to sue in federal court, companies had to seek redress amid a patchwork of state laws.

In allowing civil suits in federal court for illegal procurement of trade secrets, including manufacturing processes, formulas, computer algorithms, industrial designs, business strategies, and customer lists, the law creates uniform standards for what constitutes trade secret theft.

Theft of intellectual property is estimated to cost American firms more than $300 billion a year.

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) described the law as “the most significant intellectual property development in years.” S