Abstract
After more than half a century of stalled proposals, Congress enacted the Defend Trade Secrets Act (“DTSA”) in 2016, establishing a federal civil cause of action for trade secret misappropriation. The long delay is surprising, as trade secrets are the most pervasive form of intellectual property in the United States economy. Nearly every enterprise—commercial, nonprofit, and governmental—depends upon confidential business, technical, and strategic information. Employers routinely require nondisclosure agreements, mandate return of confidential materials upon departure, and implement security measures designed to preserve secrecy. Yet, unlike patent, copyright, and trademark law, trade secret protection historically remained largely a creature of state law. Although most states adopted versions of the Uniform Trade Secrets Act, persistent interstate variation and differences in procedural practice—particularly around early identification of trade secrets, discovery, and injunctive relief—amplified litigation risk and raised questions about remedial adequacy.
Recommended Citation
Peter S. Menell,
Federalization of Trade Secret Protection: Reflections on the 10th Anniversary of the Defend Trade Secrets Act,
91 Mo. L. Rev.
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Available at: https://scholarship.law.missouri.edu/mlr/vol91/iss3/6