Future of American Innovation and Research Act

(S. 1770)

• First introduced on November 22, 2013, the act would allow trade secret owners to bring a civil action against a person who misappropriates a trade secret if that person is acting either outside of the United States or acting on behalf of a foreign actor.
• The act would bring foreign actors within the jurisdiction of U.S. federal courts so long as the actors engaged in conduct that either takes place within the United States, or “causes or is reasonably anticipated to cause an injury” within the United States or to an American business or citizen.
• Available remedies include damages, restitution, injunctive relief, punitive damages, and attorneys’ fees.  The act would also permit courts to issue ex parte seizure orders, allowing seizure of items (such as computers) used in connection with trade secrets theft, subject to certain procedural requirements.

Private Right of Action Against Theft of Trade Secrets Act of 2013

(H.R. 2466)

• Introduced in the House on June 20, 2013, the bill would add a provision to 18 U.S.C. § 1832 that creates a private cause of action for the theft of trade secrets.
• Under this amendment, reverse engineering is explicitly not actionable.

Aaron’s Law Act of 2013

(H.R. 2454)

• Also introduced in the House on June 20, 2013, the bill is Rep. Lofgren’s effort to make good on her promise earlier this year to amend the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act in light of computer programmer Aaron Swartz’s much publicized suicide.
• The amendment seeks to clarify that “access without authorization” under 18 U.S.C. § 1030 entails the “circumvention of technological barriers in order to gain unauthorized access.”  Such language seeks to establish that the “mere breach of terms of service, employment agreements, or contracts are not automatic violations of the CFAA.”
• The bill would also strike a redundant provision that can cause an individual to be subject to duplicate charges for the same CFAA violation.  Moreover, the bill would modify penalties so that they are more proportional to the crimes.

Cyber Economic Espionage Accountability Act

(H.R. 2281)

• Introduced June 6, 2013, the bill broadly aims to secure the United States against cyber attacks sponsored by foreign governments.
• The bill calls for the President to identify foreign government officials whom the President determines, “based on credible information,” are responsible for cyber theft of United States intellectual property.
• The bill makes the identified persons ineligible to be admitted to the United States.
• The bill directs the Secretary of State and Secretary of Homeland Security to revoke the visa of any such identified person.
• The bill imposes financial sanctions, enabling the President to freeze property transactions by the identified individuals.

Deter Cyber Theft Act

(S. 884)

• Introduced May 7, 2013, the bill would establish a “watch list” and “priority watch list” of countries that facilitate or engage in cyber theft of trade secrets from the United States.
• As we previously reported, the bill would also require the President to direct U.S. Customs and Border Protection to bar imports from foreign countries on the watch list.

Strengthening and Enhancing Cybersecurity by Using Research, Education, Information, and Technology Act (“SECURE IT”)

(H.R. 1468)

• Introduced April 10, 2013, SECURE IT seeks to, among other things, facilitate the sharing of cyber threat information and create new deterrents for cyber criminals.
• For instance, the act creates a limited exemption from antitrust laws for the sharing of cyber threat information between private entities. It further provides that an entity may disclose cyber threat information to any entity to assist with the investigation of threats to cybersecurity. (This portion of the bill might face the same opposition as CISPA — see below.)
• SECURE IT further requires that federal agencies be informed of significant cyber incidents involving their federal information systems and that agencies adopt technologies to detect and remediate cyber intrusions.
• The bill aims to amend certain provisions of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act to include new criminal penalties for “aggravated damage” to certain “critical infrastructure” computers, such as those that control water supplies, electrical power delivery, and financial transactions.

Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (“CISPA”)

(H.R. 624)

• First introduced in the House on November 30, 2011, and most recently re-introduced on February 13, 2013, the act aims to permit information sharing about possible cybersecurity threats among government agencies and private companies.
• CISPA has divided the House and Senate and has faced opposition by privacy and civil liberties organizations.