On December 28, President OBAMA signed into law S. 3642, Public Law 112-___, the “Theft of Trade Secrets Clarification Act of 2012.” The new law amends Section 1832(a) of Title 18 (the Economic Espionage Act of 1996) to clarify that it applies to “a product or service used in or intended for use in” interstate or foreign commerce. The new law responds to the Second Circuit decision in U.S. v. Aleynikov, in which the court overturned a jury verdict finding that the defendant violated the Economic Espionage Act for stealing source code from his employer. The court held the trade secret theft did not meet the “interstate or foreign commerce” requirement.
