Intellectual Property » Appeals Decision Tightens Noose On Trade Secret Theft

Appeals Decision Tightens Noose On Trade Secret Theft

August 18, 2016

Frauds

A recent decision from the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, continuing what appears to be a trend moving on a number of fronts, should make it easier for owners of trade secrets to enforce their rights through the courts. In United States v. Nosal, the court confirmed the applicability of both the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and the Economic Espionage Act to theft of trade secrets by former employees. Importantly, notes Epstein Becker & Green attorney James P. Flynn, in Nosal it did so in a case where the former employee was not alleged to have any overseas connection. The author cautions trade secret owners, however, that there were dissents in this case that could prove consequential. One dissent, he says, took the position that the court in this case improperly expanded the purview of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act beyond its “anti-hacking roots.”

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