Does the federal government recognize trade secret protection?
It does, 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 trade secrets.
The Federal Government (1) makes it a crime for any Federal employee to knowingly disclose the trade secrets of a private party (18 U.S.C. § 1905); (2) makes it a crime for any U.S. citizen, permanent resident alien, or organization organized under Federal, state or local law to disclose trade secrets (18 U.S.C. § 1832) and increases the penalties if such disclosure is made to a foreign country government (18 U.S.C. § 1833); (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.
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