Washington—Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) today released the following statement on the enactment of the Defend Trade Secrets Act.  

“The president this week signed into law a trade secrets bill that is good news for California companies. Theft of intellectual property, including trade secrets, costs our economy more than $300 billion a year. Companies of all sizes are victimized by trade secret theft, and that means job and revenue losses that harm our economy.

“Before an innovation is patented, it’s a trade secret. While federal civil law protects patents, trademarks and copyrights, it has never protected trade secrets—until now. The Defend Trade Secrets Act gives businesses a new tool to protect trade secrets by allowing them to pursue trade secret theft through litigation in federal court.

“Importantly for Californians, the bill accomplishes this goal while preserving the ability of workers to move from one job to another. California has strong laws to protect employee mobility, and it’s important that our best and brightest are able to choose their employer, regardless of the information they obtained on the job.” 

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