The federal government recognizes trade secret protection, but federal law does not create a civil remedy enabling one private party to take action against another to protect its trade secrets or recover damages from a misappropriation of a trade secret.
The first federal attempt at recognizing and defining a trade secret was the Uniform Trade Secrets Act. This act sought to offer a concrete definition of a legally recognized trade secret and present the currently available remedies. Under the Uniform Trade Secrets Act, a trade secret became defined as any information, including formula, pattern, compilation, program, device, method, technique, or process that:
(i) derives independent economic value, actual or potential, from not being generally known to, and not being readily ascertainable by proper means by, other persons who can obtain economic value from its disclosure or use; and,
(ii) is the subject of efforts that are reasonable under the circumstances to maintain its secrecy.
The law went even further to define unauthorized disclosure of trade secrets as misappropriation and define penalties and remedies for damages resulting from such acts of misappropriation. The two final areas this law touched on were defenses to trade secret misappropriation and guidance on how a trade secret should be properly preserved. The Uniform Trade Secrets Act was adopted by 46 states.
The 1996 Economic Espionage Act is the most recent federal law that recognizes trade secrets. This federal law was designed to add authority to the Uniform Trade Secrets Act by making trade secret misappropriation a federal crime. Under the Economic Espionage Act, trade secret misappropriation can result in fines up to $500,000 and up to 15 years in prison per offense.
Federal law (1) it makes it a crime for any federal employee to disclose the trade secrets of a private party; (2) makes it a crime for any U.S. citizen or U.S. organization to disclose trade secrets and increases the penalties if such disclosure is made to a foreign country government; (3) permits injunctive relief against the United States if there is a threat of knowing or inadvertent disclosure of a trade secret by the U.S. government; and (4) permits the U.S. Court of Federal Claims to award monetary relief in favor of a private party against the United States for damages resulting from the government's improper disclosure of a trade secret.
If you require further information on trade secret protection or are planning to protect your intellectual property through a trade secret, it's in your best interest to consult with an intellectual property attorney.