The Defend Trade Secrets Act: Will the Landmark Waymo v. Uber Case Give It Teeth?
Avery Minor The Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) was passed with bipartisan support in 2016 to federalize trade secret protection. Previously, only states could authorize these types of suits, leading to dissimilar outcomes as a result of different state laws. Because it is still in its infancy with very little precedence, federal courts have continued to gloss over the significance of the DTSA and address trade secret cases using state law alone. The heavily publicized case involving stolen trade secrets between two prominent technology companies, Waymo v. Uber, has given the court a chance to assert the relevance of the...
The Defend Trade Secrets Act: Arrival of the Trade Secret Trolls?
Stephen Anderson A new bill that is currently facing Congress, the Defend Trade Secrets Act, is aimed at creating a federal private cause of action under the Economic Espionage Act of 1996 (EEA). It is a bill that will, if passed, expand the EEA to provide federal jurisdiction for the theft of trade secrets. There is no question as to the degree of importance the protection of trade secrets is to United States businesses and society at large. The question is whether the well-intentioned DTSA will actually do more harm than good. There are a substantial number of legal professionals...