By Robert Milligan and Joshua Salinas

Last week, the Office of the U.S. Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator published a Notice in the Federal Register soliciting public comments for an Administration legislative review related to economic espionage and trade secret theft.

The request specifically seeks written submissions from the public regarding “any recommendations for legislative changes that would enhance enforcement against, or reduce the risk of, the misappropriation of trade secrets for the benefit of foreign competitors or foreign governments.” Possible suggestions may include providing a federal civil cause of action for trade secret theft, stricter penalties under the Economic Espionage Act, and possible changes to the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.

The request is made pursuant to the Obama Administration’s recently issued “five point plan” intended to combat the theft of U.S. trade secrets, which provided that a preliminary review of whether such legislative changes are needed would be conducted within 120 days. The following is a video of the plan’s rollout event:

The submissions should be submitted electronically via http://www.regulations.gov, docket number IPEC-2013-XXXX, and should contain the term “Trade Secret Theft Strategy Legislative Review.”

Submissions must be received on or before April 22, 2013.

If you are interested in making a submission, please consider contacting your Seyfarth attorney.