Symposium to Assess Trade Secrets
In tomorrow’s Federal Register, the USPTO is announcing a public symposium on issues relevant to the protection of trade secrets, and to assess recent developments such as the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA). The symposium will be held on May 8, 2017, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. EDT.
Under U.S. law, trade secrets comprise commercially valuable information not generally known or readily ascertainable to the public, that are subject to reasonable measures to maintain confidentiality. In May 2016, the Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 (DTSA) established a federal private civil cause of action for the misappropriation of a trade secret, with the aim to provide businesses with a uniform, reliable and
predictable way to protect their valuable trade secrets anywhere in the country. Given this legislation and the continuing domestic and international attention to trade secrets, the USPTO symposium will discuss: (1) Measuring the Value of Secrecy; (2) Use of the DTSA in Practice; (3) Differences in Trade Secret Protection in Foreign Jurisdictions; and (4) Considerations of Business Owners in International Cases. Experts from academia, private legal practice, international organizations, and industry will serve as panelists.