WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), both members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today applauded the passage of the Defend Trade Secrets Act in the House of Representatives. The Senate bill, introduced by Senators Coons and Hatch, passed unanimously on April 4. The President has expressed support for the legislation and is expected to sign the bill into law soon.  

“Today’s passage of the Defend Trade Secrets Act in the House means that this bill can soon become law and finally provide the critical federal legal protection for trade secrets that U.S. companies deserve in Delaware and across the country,” said Senator Coons. “I’m thrilled that Democrats and Republicans came together in the Senate and now the House to pass this bill, demonstrating the truly bipartisan nature of this legislation and its broad coalition of support from American businesses. I look forward to seeing the President sign this bill into law soon.”

“I’m pleased the House has followed the Senate’s lead and passed the Hatch-Coons Defend Trade Secrets Act,” said Senator Hatch. “Enacting this bill into law will help address the critical problem of trade secret theft, which stifles innovation and costs American companies billions of dollars annually. I hope our success in acting to protect trade secrets will serve as a spring board for additional Congressional action to safeguard other forms of intellectual property.”  

“We are pleased that Congress has taken this positive action to strengthen intellectual property protections, and we look forward to the President’s signature,” said Krysta Harden, Vice President of Public Policy, DuPont. “Our long line of innovations include well-known technologies and brands, from DuPont™ Kevlar® and DuPont™ Tyvek® to DuPont agricultural seed and crop protection products. They all reached the market with ingenuity, many years of research, and with the support of intellectual property protection – including protection against trade secret theft. Passage of The Defend Trade Secrets Act responds to a growing global threat by putting into place a stronger process that gives federal courts the ability to act immediately to resolve trade secret theft disputes. 

“The American economy suffers great economic losses each year due to trade secret theft.  According to the Commission on the Theft of American Intellectual Property, an estimated $300 billion in lost product sales and transactions, and over 2 million U.S. jobs are lost annually.  Without a federal standard, trade secret owners have had to appeal to state courts or federal prosecutors to protect their rights.  This process has resulted in multistate procedural and jurisdictional issues which have been costly, complicated, and time consuming. 

“Realizing the full potential of our innovation often includes knowledge-building that can span decades, so for DuPont the growing trend in trade secret theft and the need for stronger intellectual property protections hits all too close to home.  We thank Senator Chuck Grassley and Representative Bob Goodlatte for their leadership in shepherding this legislation through the Senate and House Judiciary Committees to the President, and Senator Chris Coons as a lead sponsor of the legislation and longtime champion and advocate for stronger trade secret protection.”