Patent Law Practice Center

Congress passes Defend Trade Secrets Act by overwhelming margin

On April 27, 2016, the United States House of Representatives passed S. 1890, the Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 (DTSA), by a vote of 410-2. Only Congressman Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Congressman Justin Amash (R-MI) voted against the bill.

The  DTSA was authored by U.S. Senators Chris Coons (D-DE) (pictured left) and Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and cosponsored by nearly two-thirds of the Senate. The bill was previously passed by the Senate on April 4, 2016, by a vote of 87-0, and will now move on the White House. Even before the Senate passed the DTSA, the Obama Administration voiced strong support for the bill. President Obama is expected to quickly sign the bill into law, which will make it the the first-ever comprehensive federal trade secret law.

Once signed by President Obama, the DTSA will amend the Economic Espionage Act of 1996 to create a federal civil remedy for stealing trade secrets and give innovators another procedural avenue by which to protect their intellectual property from theft.

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