The Defend Trade Secrets Act Isn't an 'Intellectual Property' Law
Santa Clara High Tech Law Journal, Vol. 33, pages 541-551, 2017
12 Pages Posted: 1 Mar 2017 Last revised: 19 Sep 2017
Date Written: April 1, 2017
Abstract
Congress’ passage of the Defend Trade Secret Act is one of the most important developments in intellectual property law over the past decade, yet counterintuitively the statute expressly says it is not an intellectual property law. This apparent paradox should successfully preserve a legal quirk in the law governing liability for user-generated content online. However, Congress’ solution affects over 200 other federal statutes. Fortunately, the implications for those other laws appear to be mostly inconsequential (we hope).
Keywords: defend trade secrets act, DTSA, trade secrets, intellectual property, 47 USC 230, CDA
JEL Classification: O3, K20
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation