![]() ![]() “Improper means” includes “theft, bribery, misrepresentation, breach or inducement of a breach of a duty to maintain secrecy, or espionage through electronic or other means.” 13 However, in a departure from the UTSA that is nonetheless consistent with general trade secret practice, the DTSA expressly provides that reverse engineering, independent derivation, and any other lawful means of acquisition are excluded from the definition of “improper means.” 14 Misappropriation includes the wrongful acquisition of a trade secret-that is, the acquisition of a trade secret by a person who knows or has reason to know that the acquisition was made by improper means 11-and the wrongful use or disclosure of a trade secret-that is, the use or disclosure by one who (1) used improper means to acquire the secret or (2) knew or had reason to know that the secret was: (a) derived from a person who used improper means to acquire it, (b) acquired it under circumstances giving rise to a duty to maintain its secrecy, or (c) derived from or through a person who owed a duty to the owner to maintain its secrecy. 7 To qualify for trade secret protection, any purported trade secret must: (1) in fact be secret, 8 (2) derive actual or potential independent economic value from not being generally known to or readily ascertainable through proper means by another person who could obtain economic value from the disclosure or use of the information, 9 and (3) have been consistently subject to efforts reasonable under the circumstances to protect its secrecy. Thus, like the UTSA, the DTSA places no definitional limit on the type of information that can at least potentially be protected as a trade secret. ![]() The key definitions of the DTSA are taken from the UTSA. 6Although enacted as part of the EEA, no doubt the DTSA and EEA will, as a practical matter, typically be thought of as separate statutes. The DTSA was enacted as amendments to what is commonly known as the Economic Espionage Act (EEA), which provides criminal penalties for trade secret misappropriation and a civil cause of action for trade secret misappropriation that can be brought by the federal government. 4 Third, the DTSA immunizes individuals from liability under federal and state law for certain confidential disclosures of trade secret information. 3 Second, unlike the UTSA, the DTSA provides for ex parte seizures of property when necessary to prevent the dissemination of a misappropriated trade secret. First, where its interstate commerce requirement is met, the DTSA confers original jurisdiction on federal courts to hear trade secret misappropriation claims. THE ENACTMENT OF DTSA USHERS IN THREE NOTABLE changes to trade secret law. The DTSA, although not preempting state law, borrows heavily from the UTSA, so much so that the burden that a trade secret claimant must meet to establish the existence of a trade secret and act of misappropriation is under both acts identical. 2 Prior to the DTSA’s enactment, private causes of action for trade secret misappropriation were solely a matter of state law, which in a vast majority of states was based on the Uniform Trade Secret Act (UTSA). The Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) 1 creates for the first time a federal private cause of action for trade secret misappropriation. This article addresses privacy issues faced by employers following the U.S. SeptemReproductive Healthcare Issues for Employers: Privacy Issuesīy: Eric W. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, as decided by the Court on June. SeptemEmployers React to the Dobbs Opinion Podcastīy: Evandro C. Wade, 1 and its significant impacts on insurance. ![]() This article is part of a series discussing the United States Supreme Court decision that reversed Roe v. SeptemInsurance Issues after Dobbs: Fundamental Considerations This article discusses the impacts that are anticipated on health insurance and health insurers as a result of the Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. SeptemInsurance Issues after Dobbs: Health Insurers and Health Ins.īy: The Lexis Practical Guidance Attorney Team Voting Laws & Legislation Center, a free tool providing access to a comprehensive collection of U.S. ![]() Latest Blogs SeptemLexisNexis Rule of Law Foundation Launches Free Tool to Track.Īs the mid-term elections approach, Lexis has launched the U.S. ![]()
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