François-Marie Arouet, better known as Voltaire, once famously wrote "Ce corps qui s'appelait et qui s'appelle encore le saint empire romain n'était en aucune manière ni saint, ni romain, ni empire (This body, which was, and is, titled the Holy Roman Empire was in no way holy, Roman, or an empire)". Essai Sur Les Moeurs, Ch. LXX. A similar observation could by made about the Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 (S. 1890), which President Obama signed into law earlier this month.
My concern is with Section 7 of the Act that amends 18 U.S.C. § 1833 to provide immunity for confidential disclosure of a "trade secret" (defined in § 1839) to the government or in a court filing. Newly added subsection (b)(1) provides:
An individual shall not be held criminally or civilly liable under any Federal or State trade secret law for the disclosure of a trade secret that—
(A) is made—
(i) in confidence to a Federal, State, or local government official, either directly or indirectly, or to an attorney; and
(ii) solely for the purpose of reporting or investigating a suspected violation of law; or
(B) is made in a complaint or other document filed in a lawsuit or other proceeding, if such filing is made under seal.
Here are just a few lacunae in the statute:
Finally, it is worth noting that the law expressly immunizes individuals from criminal or civil liability under federal and state trade secret laws. Thus, the statute does not appear to override other laws, such as an attorney's duty to preserve client confidences under Business & Professions Code Section 6068(e).