The Federal Circuit has recently confirmed that the International Trade Commission has jurisdiction over trade secret misappropriation, even if the predicate acts of misappropriation occur entirely outside of the United States. The decision, TianRui Group Co. v. International Trade Commission, 661F.3d 1322 (Fed. Cir. 2011), suggests that the ITC can play a very important role in addressing the alarming rise in international trade secret theft. In TianRui, the Federal Circuit held that Section 337 of the Tariff Act, over which the ITC has exclusive jurisdiction, can be used to prevent the importation of goods produced using misappropriated trade secrets, even if the acts of misappropriation occurred overseas. The Federal Circuit also held in the case that the victim of the alleged misappropriation abroad can satisfy the domestic industry requirement of Section 337 even if it does not practice the misappropriated trade secret.
