WASHINGTON – Today, the House Judiciary Committee approved H.R. 5233, the Trade Secrets Protection Act by voice vote.
Introduced on July 28, 2014, the bipartisan Trade Secrets Protection Act, which is sponsored by Rep. George Holding (R-N.C.) and Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet Subcommittee Ranking Member Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), amends the Economic Espionage Act of 1996 to create a federal civil remedy for trade secret misappropriation that will help American companies protect their intellectual property from theft. Trade secrets include such vital proprietary information as confidential formulas, manufacturing techniques, and even customer lists.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), Ranking Member John Conyers (D-Mich.), Chairman of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet Howard Coble (R-NC), Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and Rep. George Holding (R-N.C) released the following joint statement:
“Trade secrets are an increasingly important form of intellectual property that have become more vulnerable to theft as a result of our globalized economy. As of 2009, the value of trade secrets owned by U.S. companies was estimated to be nearly $5 trillion. While current federal law protects other forms of intellectual property by providing access to federal courts for aggrieved parties to seek redress, there is no federal option to do so for trade secret theft. The bipartisan Trade Secrets Protection Act seeks to change that by allowing companies to seek civil penalties in order to protect their businesses from those engaging in economic espionage. H.R. 5233 gives American companies a powerful new tool which will help them compete in an ever-evolving global market."
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