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Amidst long-simmering diplomatic tensions between China and the United States, disputes arising out of Chinese companies’ alleged theft of technological trade secrets from rival American companies[1] have found their way to federal courtrooms. This stems, in part, from the availability of worldwide injunctive relief under the Defend Trade Secrets Act (“DTSA”), which provides American companies with a robust tool to combat trade secret misappropriation by foreign entities in cases where “an act in furtherance of the offense was committed in the United States.” 18 U.S.C. § 1837(2).
Continue Reading Illinois Court Finds China Inadequate Forum For Trade Secret Misappropriation Claims Against Chinese Tech Company

Whether under the federal Defend Trade Secrets Act (“DTSA”) or under state law uniform trade secrets acts (“UTSA”), assessing monetary damages in trade secret misappropriation cases is rarely easy.  By definition, trade secrets lose their value once they lose their secrecy, but the lost value is often difficult to monetize.  Calculating damages for misappropriation should account for the lost value of the trade secret “asset,” but courts often lose sight of this calculus in fixing damages.  Lost profits, unjust enrichment, and reasonable royalties are common measures of damages in trade secret misappropriation cases, but there is another rarely considered measure of damages:  the diminution in value of a plaintiff’s trade secret caused by the misappropriation.  Damages for the diminution in value of a trade secret are a form of compensatory damages, though some courts will grant injunctive relief due to the difficulty in valuing the diminution of trade secrets.  Aerodynamics Inc. v. Caesars Entm’t Operating Co., No. 2:15-cv-01344-JAD-PAL, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 129588, at *1 (D. Nev. Sep. 24, 2015).  DTSA (and most UTSA statutes), of course, recognize compensatory damages as a viable theory.  18 U.S.C. § 1836(b)(3)(B).  When courts have assessed trade-secret diminution theories, they have emphasized the critical importance of a quality expert and an almost asset-sale like economic valuation of the trade secrets.
Continue Reading Diminution in Value As A Measure of Damages for Trade Secret Misappropriation

In several recent decisions, district courts have held that liability under the Defend Trade Secrets Act can extend to extraterritorial defendants.  As set forth by Sheppard Mullin’s Tyler Baker in a prior blog post, the extraterritorial reach of the DTSA is rapidly expanding.  Non-U.S. Companies and the DTSA: Parameters of a Developing Reality | Trade Secrets Law Blog (citing vPersonalize Inc. v. Magnetize Consultants Ltd., 437 F. Supp. 3d 860, 878 (W.D. Wash. 2020); Micron Tech. Inc. v. United Microelectronics Corp., No. 17-cv-06932-MMC, 2019 WL 1959487 (N.D. Ca. May 2, 2019); Motorola Solutions Inc. v. Hytera Commc’ns Corp., 436 F.Supp.3d 1150, 1165 (N.D. Ill. 2020); ProV In’tl Inc. v. Lucca, No. 8:19-cv-978-T-23AAS, 2019 WL 5578880 (M.D. Fla. Oct. 29, 2019)).  As Mr. Baker observed, these rulings create a risk for foreign entities regarding trade secret theft, as federal courts have held that foreign actors may be subject to liability under the DTSA if the act in furtherance of the misappropriation occurred in the United States.
Continue Reading The DTSA as a Tool for Foreign Entities’ Enforcement of Trade Secrets: A New Legal Frontier

The Defend Trade Secrets Act (“DTSA”), enacted in 2016, created a federal right of action for misappropriation of trade secrets. The Ninth Circuit recently addressed for the first time whether a DTSA claim may be brought against misconduct predating the enactment of the DTSA.  The Ninth Circuit held that it could, so long as the misappropriation continued until after the enactment of the DTSA.  See Attia v. Google LLC, — F.3d —, 2020 WL 7380256 (9th Cir. 2020).   …
Continue Reading Ninth Circuit Applies the “Continued Use” Doctrine to the Defend Trade Secrets Act

Non-U.S. companies should not assume they are immune from civil claims under the federal Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 (“DTSA”) simply because they are not U.S. companies.  Since the enactment of the DTSA four years ago, the statute’s extraterritorial application has not been a heavily-litigated issue; however, a recent series of federal decisions indicate that civil litigants may apply the DTSA to foreign defendants so long as some act in furtherance of the misappropriation occurred in the United States, even if the foreign defendants’ acts took place outside the United States.
Continue Reading Non-U.S. Companies and the DTSA: Parameters of a Developing Reality