Two recent amendments to the Economic Espionage Act (EEA) signal Congress’ belief that protecting trade secrets should be an important objective of federal law enforcement. Will these legislative changes spur an increase in federal prosecutions for trade secret theft? That is the expectation of some for the Theft of Trade Secrets Clarification Act of 2012 and Foreign and Economic Espionage Penalty Enhancement Act of 2012.1
Recent experience suggests, however, that not much will change. The number of trade secret theft prosecutions has declined over the last several yearsa reduction that cannot be attributed to any current limitations of the EEA. The infrequency of trade secret prosecutions is likely attributable to budgetary constraints, a focus on terrorism and financial fraud, and the length and complexity of trade secret investigations. Neither amendment addresses these factors, and recent prosecutions do not suggest a material change in this trend.
