President Obama will publicly sign into law a bipartisan bill making it easier for U.S. companies and inventors to protect trade secrets Wednesday afternoon, underscoring its importance to the administration.
With corporate cyber-espionage on the rise, lawmakers have struggled with how to successfully counter it. The Defend Trade Secrets Act, which Congress approved late last month, simplifies the legal process for aggrieved parties to seek damages.
Plaintiffs will be able to seek monetary compensation for proprietary information theft in federal court.
“Effective protection of trade secrets promotes innovation that is the engine of the nation’s economy and minimizes threats to American businesses, the U.S. economy and national security interests,” the Office of Management and Budget said in a statement supportive of administration policy issued April 4.
“The administration has placed high priority on mitigating and combating the theft of trade secrets,” the statement read.
