HR 3326 · 114th Congress 2015–2017, ended

Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2015

Introduced Jul 29, 2015 Originated House Sponsor Doug Collins R-GA

Latest action · Oct 1, 2015 Referred to the Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet.

Progress

Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.

IntroducedJul 29, 2015
Passed HouseNot reached
Passed SenateNot reached
To the PresidentNot reached
Became lawNot reached

Summary

Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2015

This bill amends the federal criminal code to create a private civil cause of action for trade secret misappropriation.

Specifically, the bill authorizes a trade secret owner to file a civil action in a U.S. district court seeking relief for trade secret misappropriation related to a product or service in interstate or foreign commerce. It establishes remedies, such as an injunction and damages. The statute of limitation is set at five years from the date of discovery of the misappropriation.

A trade secret owner may apply for and a court may grant a seizure order to prevent dissemination of the trade secret if the court makes specific findings, including that an immediate and irreparable injury will occur if seizure is not ordered. A court must take custody of the seized materials and hold a seizure hearing within seven days.

Any party harmed by the order may move to dissolve or modify the order and may also seek relief against the applicant of the seizure order for wrongful or excessive seizure.

The Department of Justice must submit to Congress and publish a biannual report on trade secret theft outside the United States.

The bill expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) trade secret theft occurs in the United States and around the world, (2) trade secret theft harms owner companies and their employees, and (3) the Economic Espionage Act of 1996 applies broadly to protect trade secrets from theft.

Cosponsors 164

Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Jul 29, 2015 to Apr 26, 2016; 15 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.

Seat	Cosponsor		Signed on
R-TX	Blake Farenthold	Original	Jul 29, 2015
R-KY	Brett Guthrie	Original	Jul 29, 2015
D-LA	Cedric L. Richmond	Original	Jul 29, 2015
R-NC	George Holding	Original	Jul 29, 2015
D-NY	Hakeem S. Jeffries	Original	Jul 29, 2015
D-NY	Jerrold Nadler	Original	Jul 29, 2015
D-MI	John Conyers, Jr.	Original	Jul 29, 2015
R-TX	Lamar Smith	Original	Jul 29, 2015
R-NY	Richard L. Hanna	Original	Jul 29, 2015
R-OH	Steve Chabot	Original	Jul 29, 2015
D-WA	Suzan K. DelBene	Original	Jul 29, 2015
D-FL	Theodore E. Deutch	Original	Jul 29, 2015
R-PA	Tom Marino	Original	Jul 29, 2015
R-NY	Tom Reed	Original	Jul 29, 2015
R-AZ	Trent Franks	Original	Jul 29, 2015
R-IL	Adam Kinzinger		Jul 31, 2015
R-NY	Chris Collins		Jul 31, 2015
R-FL	Ted S. Yoho		Jul 31, 2015
D-DC	Eleanor Holmes Norton		Sep 8, 2015
D-NJ	Frank Pallone, Jr.		Sep 8, 2015
D-CA	Eric Swalwell		Sep 11, 2015
D-CA	Scott H. Peters		Sep 11, 2015
D-CA	Judy Chu		Sep 15, 2015
D-TN	Steve Cohen		Sep 18, 2015
R-NC	Patrick T. McHenry		Sep 22, 2015
R-VA	J. Randy Forbes		Sep 24, 2015
R-ND	Kevin Cramer		Sep 24, 2015
R-CA	Mimi Walters		Sep 24, 2015
D-PR	Pedro R. Pierluisi		Sep 24, 2015
R-IL	Rodney Davis		Sep 24, 2015
R-KS	Mike Pompeo		Sep 28, 2015
R-MO	Billy Long		Sep 29, 2015
R-WI	F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr.		Sep 29, 2015
R-MO	Sam Graves		Oct 1, 2015
R-TX	Ted Poe		Oct 1, 2015
R-MO	Blaine Luetkemeyer		Oct 6, 2015
D-RI	David N. Cicilline		Oct 6, 2015
D-VA	Gerald E. Connolly		Oct 6, 2015
D-GA	Henry C. "Hank" Johnson, Jr.		Oct 6, 2015
R-CO	Ken Buck		Oct 6, 2015
D-HI	Mark Takai		Oct 6, 2015
R-LA	Ralph Lee Abraham		Oct 6, 2015
D-TX	Sheila Jackson Lee		Oct 6, 2015
R-GA	Earl L. "Buddy" Carter		Oct 7, 2015
R-MO	Jason Smith		Oct 7, 2015
R-TX	John Ratcliffe		Oct 7, 2015
R-IL	Mike Bost		Oct 7, 2015
R-ID	Michael K. Simpson		Oct 9, 2015
R-OH	Bill Johnson		Oct 13, 2015
R-AR	Eric A. "Rick" Crawford		Oct 13, 2015
R-MO	Ann Wagner		Oct 20, 2015
R-CA	Doug LaMalfa		Oct 20, 2015
R-MI	Mike Bishop		Oct 20, 2015
R-CA	Stephen Knight		Oct 20, 2015
R-GA	Austin Scott		Oct 21, 2015
D-DE	John C. Carney, Jr.		Oct 21, 2015
R-CA	Devin Nunes		Oct 22, 2015
R-MS	Trent Kelly		Oct 22, 2015
R-CA	David G. Valadao		Oct 23, 2015
R-CA	Ken Calvert		Oct 23, 2015
D-PA	Matt Cartwright		Oct 28, 2015
R-IA	Rod Blum		Oct 28, 2015
R-VA	Barbara Comstock		Nov 2, 2015
R-NC	David Rouzer		Nov 2, 2015
R-KS	Lynn Jenkins		Nov 3, 2015
D-MS	Bennie G. Thompson		Nov 16, 2015
R-MI	Dan Benishek		Nov 16, 2015
R-WA	Dan Newhouse		Nov 16, 2015
R-MN	Erik Paulsen		Nov 16, 2015
R-IN	Jackie Walorski		Nov 16, 2015
R-TX	Randy Neugebauer		Nov 16, 2015
R-NJ	Frank A. LoBiondo		Nov 17, 2015
R-OK	Frank D. Lucas		Nov 17, 2015
D-CA	Julia Brownley		Nov 17, 2015
D-VT	Peter Welch		Nov 17, 2015
R-GA	Lynn A. Westmoreland		Nov 18, 2015
R-AR	Steve Womack		Nov 18, 2015
R-GA	Barry Loudermilk		Nov 19, 2015
R-OH	Brad R. Wenstrup		Nov 19, 2015
R-CA	Jeff Denham		Nov 19, 2015
R-GA	Rick W. Allen		Nov 19, 2015
R-IA	Steve King		Nov 19, 2015
D-NE	Brad Ashford		Nov 30, 2015
R-AL	Bradley Byrne		Nov 30, 2015
R-IL	Darin LaHood		Nov 30, 2015
R-PA	Glenn Thompson		Nov 30, 2015
D-CA	Grace F. Napolitano		Nov 30, 2015
R-TX	Kenny Marchant		Nov 30, 2015
R-AZ	Matt Salmon		Nov 30, 2015
D-MA	Seth Moulton		Nov 30, 2015
R-MI	David A. Trott		Dec 1, 2015
R-GA	Tom Graves		Dec 1, 2015
R-IL	Robert J. Dold		Dec 2, 2015
R-UT	Jason Chaffetz		Dec 3, 2015
R-GA	Jody B. Hice		Dec 3, 2015
D-MA	Joseph P. Kennedy III		Dec 8, 2015
R-OH	Jim Jordan		Dec 9, 2015
R-PA	Patrick Meehan		Dec 9, 2015
D-IL	Tammy Duckworth		Dec 10, 2015
R-MI	John R. Moolenaar		Dec 11, 2015
R-ME	Bruce Poliquin		Dec 15, 2015
R-LA	Charles W. Boustany, Jr.		Dec 16, 2015
R-MO	Vicky Hartzler		Dec 16, 2015
D-IA	David Loebsack		Dec 18, 2015
D-MA	Niki Tsongas		Dec 18, 2015
R-IN	Luke Messer		Jan 5, 2016
R-VA	H. Morgan Griffith		Jan 8, 2016
D-OH	Joyce Beatty		Feb 1, 2016
R-NC	Renee L. Ellmers		Feb 3, 2016
D-MA	Katherine M. Clark		Feb 10, 2016
R-NY	John Katko		Feb 11, 2016
R-OH	Patrick J. Tiberi		Feb 12, 2016
R-TN	Marsha Blackburn		Feb 23, 2016
R-NC	Robert Pittenger		Feb 23, 2016
R-FL	Carlos Curbelo		Feb 25, 2016
R-OH	James B. Renacci		Feb 25, 2016
R-NC	Richard Hudson		Feb 25, 2016
R-MN	Tom Emmer		Feb 25, 2016
R-IA	David Young		Mar 1, 2016
R-CA	Duncan Hunter		Mar 1, 2016
R-NH	Frank C. Guinta		Mar 2, 2016
R-FL	Thomas J. Rooney		Mar 2, 2016
D-CT	Joe Courtney		Mar 3, 2016
D-NY	Louise McIntosh Slaughter		Mar 14, 2016
R-PA	Scott Perry		Mar 14, 2016
D-CT	Elizabeth H. Esty		Mar 15, 2016
D-OR	Kurt Schrader		Mar 22, 2016
D-ME	Chellie Pingree		Apr 11, 2016
D-IL	Cheri Bustos		Apr 11, 2016
D-WI	Gwen Moore		Apr 11, 2016
D-CT	John B. Larson		Apr 11, 2016
D-CA	Karen Bass		Apr 11, 2016
D-NY	Kathleen M. Rice		Apr 11, 2016
R-PA	Lou Barletta		Apr 11, 2016
R-NC	Mark Walker		Apr 11, 2016
R-VA	Dave Brat		Apr 12, 2016
R-WV	Evan H. Jenkins		Apr 12, 2016
D-FL	Patrick Murphy		Apr 12, 2016
R-TX	Pete Sessions		Apr 12, 2016
R-IL	Randy Hultgren		Apr 12, 2016
D-NH	Ann M. Kuster		Apr 13, 2016
D-CA	Anna G. Eshoo		Apr 13, 2016
D-GA	Sanford D. Bishop, Jr.		Apr 13, 2016
D-MA	William R. Keating		Apr 13, 2016
R-NY	Elise M. Stefanik		Apr 14, 2016
D-NY	Gregory W. Meeks		Apr 14, 2016
D-CA	Juan Vargas		Apr 14, 2016
R-PA	Ryan A. Costello		Apr 14, 2016
D-NJ	Bill Pascrell, Jr.		Apr 15, 2016
D-IL	Mike Quigley		Apr 15, 2016
D-NC	David E. Price		Apr 18, 2016
D-WA	Derek Kilmer		Apr 18, 2016
D-VA	Donald S. Beyer, Jr.		Apr 18, 2016
D-CT	James A. Himes		Apr 18, 2016
R-TN	Scott DesJarlais		Apr 18, 2016
R-TX	Bill Flores		Apr 20, 2016
D-IL	Luis V. Gutierrez		Apr 20, 2016
D-MA	Michael E. Capuano		Apr 20, 2016
R-TX	Michael T. McCaul		Apr 20, 2016
R-PA	Bill Shuster		Apr 25, 2016
D-IL	Daniel Lipinski		Apr 25, 2016
R-WA	David G. Reichert		Apr 25, 2016
D-OR	Earl Blumenauer		Apr 26, 2016
D-OR	Suzanne Bonamici		Apr 26, 2016

Committees 1

Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.

Chamber	Committee	What it did
House	Judiciary Committee	Referred Jul 29, 2015
	Courts, Intellectual Property, Artificial Intelligence, and the Internet Subcommittee	Referred Oct 1, 2015

Actions 3

Everything that happened, newest first.

Oct 1, 2015Referred to the Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet.
Jul 29, 2015Introduced in House
Jul 29, 2015Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

Research

What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.

Constitutional authority

Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant to the following: Article I, Section 8, Clause 3 of the United States Constitution; and, Article I, Section 8, Clause 8 of the United States Constitution.

The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 161, no. 121, July 29, 2015, page H5772.

Printed hearings 1

Hearings whose printed record names this bill, newest first: hearings on it, and wider hearings where it came up.

Number	Hearing	Committee	Held
S. Hrg. 114-401	S. 2796, S. 2959, AND S. 301375 pages	Indian Affairs Committee	Jun 29, 2016

CRS reports 1

Congressional Research Service work that CRS links to this bill or the law it became, newest first.

Cite it 1

Products on other subjects that cite it, usually among other measures.

Product	Title	Kind	Published
R43714	Protection of Trade Secrets: Overview of Current Law and Legislation Archived	Report	Apr 22, 2016

Related bills 1

Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.

Bill	Title	Relationship	Latest action
S 1890	Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016	Identical bill	May 11, 2016

Titles 2

Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.

Official Title as Introduced: To amend chapter 90 of title 18, United States Code, to provide Federal jurisdiction for the theft of trade secrets, and for other purposes.
Short Titles as Introduced: Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2015

Subjects

Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement.

Text 1

Each version as it was printed, newest first.

Jul 29, 2015Introduced in House

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Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.