Strengthen AI Trade Secret Protections
The rapid growth of the artificial intelligence industry has exposed serious gaps in federal law governing trade secret protection. The Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA), enacted in 2016, established a federal civil cause of action for trade secret misappropriation, but it was written before today's AI-sector dynamics existed. Increasingly, companies are accused of systematically coaching departing employees to extract proprietary AI models, training data, prototypes, and confidential technical components — a pattern of coordinated misappropriation that current DTSA language and private civil litigation alone are poorly equipped to address. Meanwhile, AI platform providers face growing scrutiny for using data and work product submitted by their own customers to develop competing products — a practice that raises serious questions about unfair competition and breach of trust that existing federal law does not clearly prohibit.
Congress should act on three fronts. First, amend and strengthen the DTSA to explicitly cover AI-sector misappropriation patterns, including coordinated employee solicitation schemes designed to extract confidential information, and provide clearer evidentiary standards and remedies suited to digital and algorithmic trade secrets. Second, increase Department of Justice funding and enforcement authority to prosecute companies that systematically misappropriate competitors' intellectual property, reducing sole reliance on costly private civil litigation that disadvantages smaller innovators. Third, establish clear federal liability standards prohibiting AI firms from using customer-submitted data and work product to build products that compete directly against those same customers.
These reforms would protect American innovation, preserve competitive fairness in the AI sector, and ensure that the United States maintains its technological edge in a global AI arms race. Witnesses before the House Judiciary Committee in May 2025 specifically highlighted the need to modernize federal trade secret law to address AI-era threats. Constituents urge their representatives to support legislation advancing all three of these objectives.
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Live Call Script
Hello, I am an assistant calling on behalf of a constituent, {{first_name}} {{last_name}} from {{city}}, {{state}} zip code {{zip_code}}. The constituent is calling to urge {{representative_name}} to support federal legislation strengthening trade secret protections in the artificial intelligence and technology sector — specifically across three areas. First, they ask {{representative_name}} to support amending the Defend Trade Secrets Act to explicitly address AI-sector misappropriation patterns, including coordinated schemes in which companies coach departing employees to extract proprietary models, training data, and technical components from competitors. Second, they urge support for increased Department of Justice funding and enforcement authority to prosecute systematic intellectual property theft by corporations — rather than leaving enforcement entirely to private civil litigation, which disadvantages smaller innovators who cannot afford protracted federal lawsuits. Third, they ask {{representative_name}} to support establishing clear federal liability standards that prohibit AI platform providers from using data and work product submitted by their own customers to build competing products against those same customers. Witnesses testified before the House Judiciary Committee as recently as May 2025 on the urgent need to modernize federal trade secret law for the AI era. The constituent asks {{representative_name}} to prioritize this issue and to support or co-sponsor legislation advancing these three reforms. Will {{representative_name}}'s office share their position on strengthening the Defend Trade Secrets Act and DOJ enforcement in the AI sector?
Voicemail Version
I am calling on behalf of {{first_name}} {{last_name}}, a constituent from {{city}}, {{state}} {{zip_code}}. The constituent is calling to urge {{representative_name}} to support legislation strengthening federal trade secret protections in the AI and technology sector — specifically by amending the Defend Trade Secrets Act to cover AI-era misappropriation schemes, increasing DOJ funding and authority to prosecute systematic IP theft, and establishing clear federal rules prohibiting AI firms from using customer-submitted data to build competing products. This issue was the subject of House Judiciary Committee testimony as recently as May 2025, and the constituent believes Congress must act now to protect American innovation and competitive fairness in the AI sector. You may contact me at {{phone_number}} to discuss further.