Understanding the Economic Espionage Act of 1996

The Economic Espionage Act of 1996 was intended to address both the generalneed for a federal criminal deterrent against trade secret theft as well asthe apparent threat from foreign state-sponsored industrial espionage. Thisarticle examines the background of this new law, provides critical analysisof its most important terms, describes the process involved in a referenceof trade secret theft to the federal authorities, and suggests practicalstrategies for businesses to take advantage of this resource as well as toavoid exposure to liability for the mishandling of information belonging toothers.