Administration Aims to Combat Trade Secret Theft
The Obama administration announced plans Feb. 20 to combat the theft of U.S. trade secrets; a coordinated effort between government agencies and the private sector with effects that it said will ripple through the administration’s trade agenda. The plan includes an increase in enforcement efforts and a proposed provision in the still-unfinalized Trans-Pacific Partnership that would offer rights holders remedies similar to those under U.S. law, such as criminal prosecutions for trade secret theft, said Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Demetrios Marantis at the announcement.
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Marantis said the USTR is working to incorporate trade secret protection on a variety of fronts: international negotiations, parts of the Special 301 Report, bilateral talks and even non-IT areas like investment. The USTR is also proposing binding disciplines that would prohibit the forced transfer of technology as part of trade agreements, Marantis said.
All of the speakers stressed the importance of trade secret protection, including Attorney General Eric Holder, who called it a “significant and steadily increasing threat to America’s economic and national security interests.”
The announcement comes on the heels of a report that the Chinese military has coordinated multiple cyberattacks against U.S. businesses. The Chinese government denied the report, issued by private security firm Mandiant. Last week, President Obama also signed an executive order designed to protect America’s infrastructure against cyberattacks.
The administration’s plan has five parts:
- Work with the private sector to implement and share best practices.
- Increase law enforcement efforts.
- Review U.S. laws to see if new legislation is needed.
- Raise public awareness about trade secret theft.
- Engage other countries to press for better enforcement.
This includes State Department work to better track diplomatic engagements with any country where there are trade secret theft issues, said Under Secretary of State Robert Hormats. The Department also plans to contact U.S. trade industry representatives working in the U.S. and abroad. “They should feel very free to come to the State Department where they have problems,” Hormat said.
Though China was not specifically mentioned in the administration’s plan, it was mentioned by multiple speakers. Hormat called protection of intellectual property and trade secrets a “serious and highly troubling issue” in China, and said his department was engaging Chinese officials, NGOs and repeatedly stressing the issue at high-level talks to encourage trade secret protection.
But Hormat -- as well as all administration officials who spoke -- said this issue could not be solved by government alone. “We need to improve engagement with the corporations represented in this room today,” Holder said. He encouraged companies to report crimes, calling investigation and prosecution of trade secret theft a “top priority” for the Justice Department. Read Holder's complete remarks here. -- Jessica Arriens