The Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 (DTSA) amends the Economic Espionage Act of 1996, which provides for federal criminal penalties for foreign economic espionage and trade secret theft and adds new federal civil trade secret protections. The DTSA modernizes and strengthens trade secret law in a number of key respects.

Enacted on May 11, 2016, the DTSA represents the most significant trade secret reform legislation in several decades. Given the importance of this landmark statute, this White Paper provides an overview of the key provisions and identifies practical suggestions for trade secret owners to protect their trade secrets under the new federal law.