Unanimous Senate approval of the federal trade secrets bill creates momentum for a new cause of action.

After nearly a year-long delay, the Senate on April 4, 2016, unanimously passed the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA), which now awaits approval by the House of Representatives. The bill’s strong bipartisan support reflects broader concern over trade secret theft across industry sectors. As former Attorney General Eric Holder put it, “[t]here are only two categories of companies affected by trade-secret theft: those that know they’ve been compromised and those that don’t know yet.’’ If enacted, the DTSA will create a new federal cause of action in addition to those available under state trade secret laws. The DTSA will provide businesses with novel avenues for protecting their valuable competitive information, but may also create new pitfalls for the unwary. Here are five things businesses should know about the federal trade secrets bill.