In West Virginia, legislators are moving forward a bill that would criminalize trade secret theft. On February 26th 2019, the West Virginia House of Delegates passed H.B. 2014 with a 98-1 approval that would create criminal penalties for stealing trade secret or other intellectual property. The bill is now headed to the West Virginia Senate where President Mitch Carmichael has already indicated he approves and plans to move it forward. Legislators are hoping to drive tech and corporate investment in West Virginia by imposing more stringent protections for trade secrets and according to Senate President Carmichael, “[t]his bill would make sure [these companies] are protected” from intellectual property theft. If passed, the bill would apply to violations occurring after July 1st and could make West Virginia an attractive forum for companies looking to protect valuable intellectual property assets.
