I am a little late to the party here, but following my post, Economic Espionage Act Bill Passes Senate, But Can Be Improved, about the Senate’s passage of the Theft of Trade Secrets Clarification Act of 2012, President Obama, on December 28, signed the Act into law.
So, the good news is that the hole in the Economic Espionage Act of 1996, 18 U.S.C. §§ 1831-39, that allowed the defendant in U.S. v. Aleynikov to escape prosecution under the EEA has now been closed.
Next step: PATSIA – the Protecting American Trade Secrets and Innovation Act. (See here for an early discussion of PATSIA.) Maybe this year we’ll see that bill move forward in a form that allows for a meaningful federal private right of action for the protection of trade secrets.