Big Changes May Be Ahead for the Nation’s Trade Secret Laws

A significant new bill was recently introduced in Congress seeking to add a federal civil cause of action for trade secret theft. 

On Tuesday, April 29, 2014, in a bipartisan effort, Senators Christopher Coons (D-Del) and Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), both members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, introduced the bill.

Senators Coons and Hatch’s bill, entitled the “Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2014,” authorizes a trade secret owner to bring a civil action for a violation of sections 1831(a) or 1832(a) of the Economic Espionage Act. It also permits an owner to bring an action for a “misappropriation of a trade secret that is related to a product or service used in, or intended for use in, interstate or foreign commerce.”

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