Have you updated your company's form employee and independent contractor non-disclosure agreements lately? Do they comply with the notice requirements relating to "whistleblowers" that took effect May 11, 2016 under a new federal law? If your answer is "no" or "I don't know", read on.
The new Defend Trade Secrets Act helps U.S. businesses protect their trade secrets by asking federal courts to order seizure of property necessary to prevent dissemination of the trade secrets. It also permits businesses to seek injunctions and damages in federal court for trade secret misappropriation.
The DTSA also provides some immunity for whistleblowers who use trade secrets by stating that:
An individual shall not be held criminally or civilly liable under any Federal or State trade secret law for the disclosure of a trade secret that (a) is made (i) in confidence to a Federal, State, or local government official, either directly or indirectly, or to an attorney; and (ii) solely for the purpose of reporting or investigating a suspected violation of law; or (B) is made in a complaint or other document filed in a lawsuit or other proceeding, if such filing is made under seal.
and
An individual who files a lawsuit for retaliation by an employer for reporting a suspected violation of law may disclose the trade secret to the attorney of the individual and use the trade secret information in the court proceeding, if the individual (A) files any document containing the trade secret under seal; and (B) does not disclose the trade secret, except pursuant to court order.
The immunity section of the DTSA is especially important for employers because it requires employers to provide with notice of the DTSA's immunity clauses "in any contract or agreement with an employee that governs the use of a trade secret or other confidential information." The Act defines "employee" to include both actual employees and independent contractors. If an employer does not comply with the notice requirement, the employer's ability to recover damages against that employee in a federal action for theft or other misappropriation of trade secrets will be limited.
Employers can comply with the notice requirement by updating their form employee and independent contractor agreements to include either the notice requirement or a cross-reference to a policy document (such as an employee handbook) that states the employer's reporting policy for a suspected violation of law.
For additional information about the DTSA, including the law's seizure and damages provisions, see this previous IP Spotlight post.
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