Washington, D.C. – United States Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ), introduced S. 1770, the Future of American Innovation and Research Act (FAIR). This legislation would fill a gap in current law and extend the jurisdiction of U.S. federal courts to overseas perpetrators of trade-secret theft when such fraud causes an injury in the U.S. to a U.S. company or person. The FAIR Act would allow a person or company whose trade secret has been disclosed to bring a civil suit against the bad actor if the entity is overseas, just as they can if the entity is domestic.
Background: U.S. businesses often must share trade secrets with foreign suppliers, foreign customers and foreign partners under nondisclosure agreements. U.S. companies also share valuable information with their own employees in multiple countries, as product development and manufacturing occurs around the world. Should a trade secret be disclosed, its value is eliminated because it cannot be recovered.
The theft of trade secrets abroad is a growing problem because foreign entities are not subject to the same laws protecting trade secrets as U.S. entities. Therefore, a U.S. entity has little recourse when a foreign entity steals or conspires to steal its trade secret.
“It’s no secret that innovation is one of the key drivers of economic growth in the U.S. today, and that the protection of intellectual property is critical to innovation. We cannot abide gaps in current law that allow foreign entities to misappropriate U.S. trade secrets,” said Flake.
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Background: U.S. businesses often must share trade secrets with foreign suppliers, foreign customers and foreign partners under nondisclosure agreements. U.S. companies also share valuable information with their own employees in multiple countries, as product development and manufacturing occurs around the world. Should a trade secret be disclosed, its value is eliminated because it cannot be recovered.
The theft of trade secrets abroad is a growing problem because foreign entities are not subject to the same laws protecting trade secrets as U.S. entities. Therefore, a U.S. entity has little recourse when a foreign entity steals or conspires to steal its trade secret.
“It’s no secret that innovation is one of the key drivers of economic growth in the U.S. today, and that the protection of intellectual property is critical to innovation. We cannot abide gaps in current law that allow foreign entities to misappropriate U.S. trade secrets,” said Flake.
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