Boutros and Schleppenbach: Civil RICO is a Trade Secrets Super Weapon
Actions brought under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act can be challenging to plead, but, if successful, they can provide an unusually potent weapon for litigants in trade secret theft cases, according to an article in World Intellectual Property Review (WIPR) by Shook Government Investigations and White Collar Practice Co-Chair Andrew Boutros and Partner Jay Schleppenbach.
Boutros and Schleppenbach co-authored an article for WIPR titled “Civil RICO: A Trade Secrets Super Weapon.” In the article, they provide an introduction to RICO and the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA), which added trade secret theft as a predicate for a criminal or civil RICO action.
Boutros and Schleppenbach said DTSA-based RICO claims have a mixed track record of success; RICO claims are technical, with multiple complex elements that have been subject to slightly different legal analyses in different jurisdictions.
“Accordingly, in our view, DTSA plaintiffs should bring an objective lens to evaluating any RICO cause of action, especially one sounding in the DTSA,” they said.
Read the article in WIPR >>
Boutros and Schleppenbach co-authored an article for WIPR titled “Civil RICO: A Trade Secrets Super Weapon.” In the article, they provide an introduction to RICO and the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA), which added trade secret theft as a predicate for a criminal or civil RICO action.
Boutros and Schleppenbach said DTSA-based RICO claims have a mixed track record of success; RICO claims are technical, with multiple complex elements that have been subject to slightly different legal analyses in different jurisdictions.
“Accordingly, in our view, DTSA plaintiffs should bring an objective lens to evaluating any RICO cause of action, especially one sounding in the DTSA,” they said.
Read the article in WIPR >>
