Federal Economic Espionage Act Overview
On January 5, 2023, President Biden signed the Protecting American Intellectual Property Act of 2022 (“PAIP Act”) into law. The law is designed to shield American businesses from trade secret theft by foreign actors....more
Sergey Aleynikov was tried and convicted on criminal charges by both a Federal and a New York state jury; both times, his conviction was reversed. But his luck on appeal may have run out. The Appellate Division, First...more
Trade secrets provide significant value for American companies. Take, for example, the formula for Coca-Cola. The exact formula for the popular softdrink is a closely guarded secret, and Coca-Cola’s exclusive ability to make...more
It’s been a hot year in the trade secrets field, with some huge verdicts and settlements, a renewed spotlight on cyberattacks, and an unusual flurry of trade secrets legislation. Trade Secrets Watch’s 2013 Year-in-Review...more
On October 16, 2013, a federal judge in New Jersey ruled that Goldman Sachs must advance the legal fees of a former employee charged with stealing Goldman’s source code. The order is the latest twist in a case that...more
When Rep. Zoe Lofgren, the Silicon Valley Democrat, introduced a pair of bills last month on trade secret misappropriation, we puzzled over her purpose. ...more
Trade secret theft and cybersecurity are hot topics in Congress these days, spawning legislative initiatives left and right....more
The Obama Administration issued a Report earlier this month, entitled "Administration Strategy on Mitigating the Theft of U.S. Trade Secrets," that sets forth its efforts to prevent trade secret misappropriation. The Report...more
On February 20, 2013, the White House released the Administration Strategy on Mitigating the Theft of U.S. Trade Secrets (the “Strategy”), which “recognizes the crucial role of trade secrets in the U.S. economy and sets out a...more
The White House warned yesterday that hackers and “hacktivist” groups have the intent and capability to target U.S. companies and steal confidential data. A new executive strategy explains that the threat of corporate...more
On February 20, 2013, the White House issued a report outlining a new plan to combat trade secret theft from U.S. businesses. Faced with the escalating theft of U.S. trade secrets and noting “the crucial role of trade...more
One of the drawbacks of a global economy is the rise in trade secret theft. In the absence of a seamless global enforcement infrastructure foreign actors have had little fear of being caught and suffering any consequences. ...more
The old adage that crime does not pay rings particularly true in the aftermath of two pieces of recent legislation aimed at raising the penalties for trade secret theft: the Theft of Trade Secrets Clarification Act and the...more
Introduction - The U.S. Congress recently passed two laws that raise the stakes dramatically for employees of financial services firms and anyone else who misappropriates trade secrets, including source code and other...more
In the summer of 2009, in an office at Goldman Sachs, in the waning hours of his last day of employment, a computer programmer named Sergey Aleynikov encrypted more than 500,000 lines of source code from Goldman’s proprietary...more
On December 28, 2012, President Obama signed into law the Theft of Trade Secrets Clarification Act, which amends and expands the Economic Espionage Act (EEA)....more
On December 28, 2012, President Obama signed the “Theft of Trade Secrets Clarification Act of 2012.” This new law clarifies the scope of the “Economic Espionage Act of 1996” (18 USC §§1831-39). The enactment of the new...more
On December 28, 2012, President Obama signed into law the Theft of Trade Secrets Clarification Act of 2012, (the TTSCA), S. 3642, which broadens the scope of the Economic Espionage Act of 1996 (18 U.S.C. Sections 1831-39)....more
Womble Carlyle business litigation attorney Press Millen briefly discusses what companies need to know about the federal Economic Espionage Act, and the Theft of Trade Secrets Clarification Act signed into law January 1,...more
Trade secret protection expanded to include products or services "used in or intended for use in interstate or foreign commerce." On December 28, 2012, President Barack Obama signed into law the Theft of Trade Secrets...more