Defined term
Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA)
The Defend Trade Secrets Act (18 U.S.C. § 1836) is the 2016 federal statute creating a private cause of action for trade-secret misappropriation — with federal jurisdiction, attorney's-fee recovery for willful misappropriation, and ex parte seizure orders in extreme cases.
Before the DTSA, trade-secret law was almost entirely state-law (Uniform Trade Secrets Act). The DTSA created concurrent federal jurisdiction without preempting state UTSA claims, plus several remedial advantages: attorney's fees for willful misappropriation, exemplary (treble) damages, and the dramatic ex-parte seizure remedy where a TRO is inadequate.
Every DTSA claim requires proof that (a) the information is actually a trade secret — reasonable measures to protect, independent economic value from secrecy — and (b) misappropriation occurred. Both sides win or lose at deposition. Employers preparing for departing-employee litigation should document protective measures contemporaneously, not retroactively.
Statutes
- 18 U.S.C. §§ 1836-1839