shutterstock_269909327We are pleased to announce the webinar “New Year, New Progress: 2016 Update on Defend Trade Secrets Act & EU Directive” is now available as a podcast and webinar recording.

In Seyfarth’s third installment of its 2016 Trade Secrets Webinar series, Seyfarth attorneys Robert Milligan, Justin Beyer and Daniel Hart, provided attendees with a thorough discussion of the fundamentals as well as latest updates on the Defend Trade Secrets Act and the proposed EU Trade Secrets Directive. The panel gave insight into the limitations and benefits of the Act and the proposed Directive.

Below are three takeaways from the well-received webinar:

  • With the passage of the Defend Trade Secrets Act, there is now a federal cause of action for trade secrets disapproval. Some of the key provisions in the Act include a three year statute of limitations, the availability of attorneys’ fees, exemplary damages, as well as increased criminal penalties for a violation of the Economic Espionage Act. It also includes portions of the DTSA as predicate offenses for the RICO Act.
  • The Act also contains language requiring that an employer include information relating to whistleblower immunity for employers to obtain exemplary damages. This only underscores an important point to anyone maintaining employment agreements which contain restrictive covenants: it is imperative for employers to monitor applicable state and federal law to best preserve and maintain their rights and employment agreements.
  • The European Commission’s directive on trade secret protection will mark a sea-change in protection of trade secrets throughout the European Union. Each of the EU’s 28 member states will have a period of 24 months to enact national laws that provide at least the minimum levels of protections afforded to trade secrets by the directive. Look for greater consistency in trade secrets protection throughout the European Union in the years ahead.

Join us on Friday, April 29 at 12:00 p.m. Central for our next webinar, “Protecting Confidential Information and Client Relationships in the Financial Services Industry.”