About the bill
The Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 (DTSA) (Pub.L. 114–153, 130 Stat. 376, enacted May 11, 2016, codified at 18 U.S.C. § 1836, et seq.) is a United States federal law that allows an owner of a trade secret to sue in federal court when its trade secrets have been misappropriated. The act was signed into law by President Barack Obama on May 11, 2016. It underscored Congress’s desire to align closely with the Uniform Trade Secrets Act, which had been adopted in some form in almost every U.S. state. Technically, the DTSA extended the Economic Espionage Act of 1996, which criminalizes certain trade secret misappropriations.
The law also grants legal immunity to corporate whistleblowers.
After the DTSA's passage by the Senate, Forbes magazine called the law the …
Sponsor and status
Orrin Hatch
Sponsor. Senator for Utah. Republican.
114th Congress (2015–2017)
Enacted — Signed by the President on May 11, 2016
This bill was enacted after being signed by the President on May 11, 2016.
65 Cosponsors (36 Republicans, 28 Democrats, 1 Independent)
Position statements
What legislators are saying
“Senators Hatch, Coons: Trade Secrets bill ready for markup, floor vote”
—
Sen. Orrin Hatch [R-UT, 1977-2018]
(Sponsor)
on Dec 2, 2015
“Statement of Senator Patrick Leahy Ranking Member, Senate Judiciary Committee On Senate Passage of S.1890, The Defend Trade Secrets Act”
—
Sen. Patrick Leahy [D-VT, 1975-2022]
(Co-sponsor)
on Apr 4, 2016
“Rep. Nadler Praises Passage of the Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 by the US House of Representatives”
—
Rep. Jerrold Nadler [D-NY12]
on Apr 27, 2016
Incorporated legislation
This bill incorporates provisions from:
H.R. 3326: Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2015
Introduced on Jul 29, 2015. 95% incorporated. (compare text)
History
S. 1890 (114th) was a bill in the United States Congress.
A bill must be passed by both the House and Senate in identical form and then be signed by the President to become law.
Bills numbers restart every two years. That means there are other bills with the number S. 1890. This is the one from the 114th Congress.
This bill was introduced in the 114th Congress, which met from Jan 6, 2015 to Jan 3, 2017. Legislation not passed by the end of a Congress is cleared from the books.
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