Professors’ Letter in Opposition to the Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2015 (S. 1890, H.R. 3326)
23 Pages Posted: 7 Dec 2015
Date Written: November 17, 2015
Abstract
In August 2014, thirty-one law professors signed a letter in opposition to proposed federal legislation to create a civil cause of action for trade secret misappropriation. We write to express continued concerns about the current version of this legislation, the Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2015 (“DTSA”), S. 1890 and H.R. 3326. While we agree that effective legal protection for U.S. businesses’ legitimate trade secrets is important to American innovation, we believe that the DTSA — which would represent the most significant expansion of federal law in intellectual property since the Lanham Act in 1946 — will not solve the problems identified by its sponsors. Instead of addressing cyberespionage head-on, passage of the DTSA is likely to create new problems that could adversely impact domestic innovation, increase the duration and cost of trade secret litigation, and ultimately negatively affect economic growth. Therefore, the undersigned call on Congress to reject the DTSA.
Keywords: trade secrets, innovation, cyberespionage, cybersecurity, intellectual property
JEL Classification: K1
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation