Supreme Court Rejects Request to Review the Extraterritorial Reach of the Federal Trade Secret Act

At a Glance

• The U.S. Supreme Court declined to review a decision that applied the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) outside the United States. 
• The extraterritorial reach of the DTSA distinguishes it from many other areas of intellectual property law, which do not reach outside the United States.
• This decision confirms that federal courthouse doors are open to trade secret plaintiffs even when much (or even most) of the wrongful conduct occurred outside the United States.

On February 24, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review a decision that applied the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) outside the United States. Specifically, the Court denied Hytera Communications Corporation Ltd.’s (Hytera) petition to review the decision from the U.S. Court of Appeal for the Seventh Circuit in Motorola Solutions, Inc. v. Hytera Communications Corp. Ltd. that the DTSA applies to conduct outside the United States. Hytera sought to reverse the Seventh Circuit’s decision that, in certain circumstances, the DTSA reaches outside the United States and allows a trade secret plaintiff to recover damages based on a defendant’s worldwide sales. The Seventh Circuit’s decision resulted in affirming an award of hundreds of millions of dollars in compensatory and punitive damages under the DTSA. The Supreme Court did not give any reason for its denial, but this marks the end for Hytera’s efforts to limit the extraterritorial reach of the DTSA.

Summary

In July 2024, the Seventh Circuit concluded that the DTSA can reach all of a defendant’s worldwide sales caused by the misappropriation, so long as — in the words of 18 U.S.C. § 1837(2) — “an act in furtherance” of the misappropriation was committed in the United States. This decision confirms that federal courthouse doors are open to trade secret plaintiffs even when much (or even most) of the wrongful conduct occurred outside the United States — and that trade secret plaintiffs may recover damages even on infringing sales outside the United States. The extraterritorial reach of the DTSA distinguishes it from many other areas of intellectual property law, which do not reach outside the United States.

Faegre Drinker attorneys have covered the Seventh Circuit's decision in prior alerts:

• Seventh Circuit Confirms Extraterritorial Reach of the Defend Trade Secrets Act
  
• Trade Secret Remedies After Motorola Solutions, Inc. v. Hytera Communications Corp. Ltd.
  
• Hytera Petitions Supreme Court to End DTSA’s Extraterritorial Reach
  

Takeaway

The Supreme Court’s denial of Hytera’s petition marks the end of Hytera’s efforts to reverse the Motorola decision. Based on Motorola, a trade secret owner can bring its claim against a foreign defendant in the United States even when most of the wrongful conduct occurs outside the United States, so long as there is some act in furtherance of the misappropriation that occurred in the United States.