The Uniform Trade Secrets Act (UTSA) is a US Federal law that provides for information on how long patents can be maintained, and for the judicial process to which one is entitled if someone knowingly violates or misuses patented trade secrets.

A trade secret as proposed by the UTSA can be many different things. It may be an idea, a product, a formula, a piece of writing, or other things that if stolen could reasonably deter the profits of a company. Most patent law according to the UTSA allows for people to protect a trade secret for 17 years.

The UTSA further defines the trade secret with three criteria. A trade secret cannot be so general that others could easily arrive at the same knowledge. The person holding the secret must take reasonable means to protect it. Further, the secret must have an economic value, as this last is the only means by which others can be held liable for obtaining and using the trade secret.

A person may violate the UTSA in several ways. He or she may willingly steal trade secret information or accept information that is known to be stolen. If a trade secret is stolen, and so proven according the UTSA, then persons benefiting from the theft may need to reimburse the company that initially possessed or patented the secret.

According to the UTSA, it is illegal to use protected information one gathers from a friend, one deliberately steals, or that one uses blackmail to obtain. Such theft is not only punishable by civil law, but is also now criminal behavior as defined by the Economic Espionage Act of 1996.

The UTSA first came into being in 1970. It was written by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Law. It was particularly important in 1970 to propose a law that would apply federally, since sometimes trade secrets would be illegally used in state that made no provisions for their misuse. This allowed some companies to willfully steal and profit using the inventions of others.

In 1985 and 1999 the UTSA underwent revisions that are largely expansions of the original definitions. There are also 41 states which have enacted laws quite similar to the UTSA. Those willfully stealing a trade secret or making illegal use of such may be subject to both state and federal prosecution.