{
  "node_id": "us-defend-trade-secrets-act",
  "title": "US Federal Trade Secret Protection (18 USC ch 90): Economic Espionage, Theft and the DTSA Civil Action",
  "domain": "Legal & IP Sovereignty",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "last_updated": "2026-05-26",
  "bluf": "Chapter 90 of Title 18 (18 U.S.C. ch. 90) is the federal trade-secret protection regime, combining the criminal Economic Espionage Act of 1996 with the civil Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 (DTSA), enforced criminally by the Department of Justice and civilly through a federal private action. Section 1831 criminalizes economic espionage, the misappropriation of a trade secret to benefit a foreign government or instrumentality, punishable by a fine of up to 5,000,000 dollars or imprisonment of up to 15 years for an individual, and a fine of the greater of 10,000,000 dollars or three times the value for an organization. Section 1832 criminalizes the theft of trade secrets related to a product or service in interstate or foreign commerce, punishable by imprisonment of up to 10 years for an individual, and a fine of the greater of 5,000,000 dollars or three times the value for an organization. Section 1833 sets out exceptions, including the immunity for confidential disclosures by whistleblowers. Section 1834 provides for criminal forfeiture and section 1835 for orders to preserve the confidentiality of trade secrets in proceedings. Section 1836 contains the DTSA civil action: it allows an owner to sue in federal court for misappropriation, with remedies including injunctions, actual loss and unjust enrichment damages or a reasonable royalty, exemplary damages of up to two times the damages for willful and malicious misappropriation, and, in extraordinary circumstances, civil seizure of the misappropriated trade secret. Section 1837 extends the chapter to certain conduct outside the United States, and section 1839 supplies the definitions of trade secret, misappropriation and improper means. The chapter is the legal foundation of US trade-secret enforcement.",
  "paywall": {
    "status": "LOCKED",
    "unlock_cost_usd": "0.01",
    "skyfire_id": "41779894-ece2-4163-9761-b3b1b76e19b0"
  },
  "crosswalks": {
    "_available_keys": [
      "industry_mapping",
      "related_frameworks"
    ],
    "_note": "Full crosswalk values included in vault response"
  },
  "primary_citations_count": 8
}