By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff
In an effort to protect U.S. companies against intellectual property theft, the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate passed a SEMA-supported bill that enables companies to protect their trade secrets in federal court. The absence of a uniform federal standard has forced companies to navigate a patchwork of different laws when bringing trade secret cases in state court. While the U.S. Department of Justice has the power to pursue criminal penalties against companies and individuals that illegally obtain trade secrets, the department’s backlog of cases have not provided companies with sufficient protection.
The “Defend Trade Secrets Act” remedies this problem, providing a uniform standard for companies seeking access to federal courts that may be better positioned to handle interstate or international cases. The president is expected to sign the bill into law.
For more information, contact Eric Snyder at erics@sema.org.