Since its enactment in 2016, the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) has become the most important trade secrets statute in the world. Here’s the proof. DTSA filings have steadily increased, doubling from 2016’s 476 filings to 2020’s 1,008 filings. According to Lex Machina’s 2021 Trade Secret Litigation Report, 72.9% of all trade secret cases in 2020 and 72.5% in 2019 included a claim under the DTSA. And as other nations recognize the importance of trade secrets and develop their own trade secret laws (see the EU’s Trade Secret Directive and China’s recent amendments to its trade secret law), those nations will likely look to the DTSA for inspiration. When you throw in the increasing reliance on trade secret law and perceived erosion of patent protection, it’s hard to dispute the DTSA’s growing importance.

But the DTSA is far from perfect. Like the Uniform Trade Secrets Act on which it was based, the DTSA can be improved as trade secret law evolves. To that end, I would humbly propose the following two amendments to the DTSA: (1) a “safe harbor” provision for penitent defendants who have agreed to an injunction and are cooperating in a litigation; and (2) a trade secret identification requirement similar to the Model Local Rule suggested by the Sedona Conference’s Trade Secrets Working Group (described below).Continue Reading Two Ideas to Improve and Balance the Defend Trade Secrets Act: A Safe Harbor Rule and Early Trade Secret Identification