On May 11, 2016, President Obama enacted a new federal trade secret protection law known as the Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 (DTSA). The DTSA makes federal protection against the misappropriation of trade secrets available to private parties. Before the DTSA, private parties who sought to protect their trade secrets from misappropriation were limited […]
Category: Legislation
Understanding The New Federal Trade Secret Law (Part 1)
When it comes to trade secret protection, there’s a new sheriff in town. Congress recently updated the Economic Espionage Act of 1996 (EEA), and as part of that update, it created a brand new federal trade secret protection law. Shockingly, and in a rare flash of solidarity, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed the law, and […]
Intellectual Property Theft: A National Security Issue?
Let’s pretend that you like to rip music from peer-to-peer sites like BitTorrent and LimeWire and pull copies of photos from picture sharing sites for your blog, without giving attribution to the photographer. It’s just a little wrong to make a single copy of others’ copyrighted work—right? Well, a new 100-page report on theft of […]
Living the First-Inventor-to-File Lifestyle
Big Changes Under the AIA This month, some major changes to the U.S. patent laws will go into effect. These provisions enacted in the America Invents Act (AIA) change the U.S. patent system from a “first-to-invent” system (unique among IP systems) to a “first-inventor-to-file” system. All patent applications filed on or after March 16, 2013, […]
Is the USPTO Doing its AIA Homework?
The USPTO has been busy since September 2011, when the America Invents Act (AIA) was signed into law. That’s because Congress gave the USPTO a lot of homework without a lot additional resources. The AIA requires that the Patent Office change a number of rules and fees, and that it investigate certain issues Congress tasked […]
What You Need to Know About the New Patent Laws
Decoding IP™ blog readers: You’re invited to attend a special (and free) panel discussion this week that is focused on decoding recent changes to the U.S. patent laws. Join other government and private sector legal practitioners, business owners, and entrepreneurs at Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law as we unpack the 2011 America […]