Just before the Thanksgiving holiday last week, Senator Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) introduced the Future of American Innovation and Research Act, a new trade secrets bill that would allow American trade secrets owners to sue entities who misappropriate trade secrets outside the United States, or who misappropriate trade secrets on behalf of foreign entities. The bill tracks the Uniform Trade Secret Act's definitions of "trade secret" and "misappropriation," and includes standard remedies of damages and injunctive relief. One interesting addition is that it would also enable courts to seize property involved in the commission of the theft. You can read Flake's press release about his bill here.
This bill is just one more in a laundry list of pending bills related to trade secrets. We've been tracking these proposed laws throughout the year and have updated our primer to include Flake's new bill. We've also updated the chart to include bill numbers and links to up-to-date status information via www.govtrack.us:
Bill | Sponsor | What's It About? | Status |
---|---|---|---|
Future of American Innovation and Research Act (S. 1770) |
Sen. Jeffry L. Flake (R-Ariz.) |
|
Referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee |
Private Right of Action Against Theft of Trade Secrets Act of 2013 (H.R. 2466) |
Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Cal.) |
|
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary |
(H.R. 2454) |
Rep. Zoe
Lofgren (D-Cal.) et al. |
|
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary |
Cyber Economic Espionage Accountability Act (H.R. 2281) |
Rep. Mike
Rogers (R-Mich.) and Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) |
|
Referred to the Foreign Affairs, Judiciary and Financial Services Committees |
(S. 884) |
Sen. Carl
Levin (D-Mich.) et al. |
|
Referred to the Committee on Finance |
(H.R. 1468) |
Rep. Marsha
Blackburn (R-Tenn.) |
|
Referred to the House Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations |
Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act ("CISPA") (H.R. 624) |
Rep. Mike
Rogers (R-Mich.) et al. |
|
The bill passed the House and was referred to the Senate but has not shown signs of advancement. We reported earlier that the Senate would not be taking up the bill and that President Obama threatened to veto the bill because of privacy concerns. |
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.