The unauthorized acquisition, use or disclosure of confidential business information that derives economic value from not being generally known, such as a formula, manufacturing process, customer list or source code, typically carried out by a current or former employee, a business partner, or a competitor's agent. It is treated as a distinct offense from copyright or patent infringement because a trade secret is protected specifically by its confidentiality rather than by a registered right, and the offense centers on the wrongful means used to obtain it, such as breach of a confidentiality agreement, deception or computer intrusion. A number of countries have adopted or strengthened economic espionage statutes since the 1990s, in some cases with enhanced penalties when the theft is committed to benefit a foreign government.
Facts
Classification CodeIn the United States the Economic Espionage Act (EEA) of 1996, 18 U.S.C. sections 1831 through 1839, makes the theft or misappropriation of a trade secret a federal crime; section 1831(a) criminalizes theft of trade secrets to benefit a foreign power, while section 1832 criminalizes theft of trade secrets for commercial or economic purposes, with statutory penalties that differ between the two offenses. 1 Typical PenaltyRemedies for trade secret misappropriation include monetary damages and, in some instances, punitive damages and attorneys' fees; under the federal Defend Trade Secrets Act a court may in extraordinary circumstances order an ex parte seizure of property to prevent the trade secret from being further disseminated, alongside the separate criminal penalties the Economic Espionage Act attaches to trade secret theft. 1 Elements of OffenseA trade secret must meet three elements under most legal definitions: the information is not generally known among or accessible to individuals within the relevant business sector, it is commercially valuable because it is secret, and the rightful holder has taken reasonable steps to keep it secret; if any element ceases to exist the trade secret itself ceases to exist, and its theft or misappropriation is the unauthorized acquisition, use or disclosure of that information in a manner contrary to honest commercial practices. 1 Notable ExampleWell known examples of information protected as trade secrets include the formula for Coca-Cola, the recipe for Kentucky Fried Chicken and the formula for Zildjian bronze cymbals, each kept secret rather than patented so that the underlying formula never becomes public through a patent filing. 1 Jurisdiction VariationTrade secret law in the United States is chiefly a matter of state law: the Uniform Trade Secrets Act (UTSA), issued in 1979 and amended in 1985, has since been adopted by 48 states along with the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands, with New York and North Carolina as the exceptions, while the 2016 federal Defend Trade Secrets Act added a federal civil cause of action alongside these state regimes rather than replacing them. 1 Classification
Offense GradeSerious or Indictable Offense 1 Connections
Has Offense Grade
Entity-backed identity for the offense-grade enum value this offense already carries, resolved to a crime concept by an explicit value-to-entity map (phase 3 bucket conversion, docs\design_entity_backed_browse_buckets_20260928.md). The offense-grade fact itself stays on the offense unchanged.
In the Other Atlases
Sources
1. Trade Secret (Wikipedia)
WikipediaHistory section, Economic Espionage Act sentence
the Economic Espionage Act (EEA) of 1996 (18 U.S.C. §§ 1831-1839), which makes the theft or misappropriation of a trade secret a federal crime.
Definition section, all three elements sentence
All three elements are required. If any element ceases to exist, then the trade secret will also cease to exist.
Remedies section (DTSA), ex parte seizure sentence
monetary damages, and, in some instances, punitive damages and attorneys’ fees too. In extraordinary circumstances, an ex parte seizure under the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) also allows for the court to seize property to prevent the propagation or dissemination of the trade secret.
lead paragraph, well-known examples sentence
Well-known examples of trade secrets include the formula for Coca-Cola, the recipe for Kentucky Fried Chicken, and the formula for Zildjian bronze cymbals.
Definition section, UTSA adoption sentence
It has since been adopted by 48 states, along with the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, with New York and North Carolina as the exceptions.
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