Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I rise today to speak in support of the Defend Trade Secrets Act, which is before us today. I thank Senators Hatch and Coons for their important work on this bill and Chairman Grassley and Ranking Member Leahy for their leadership as well. Stolen trade secrets cost American companies--and thus their workers--billions of dollars each year and threaten their ability to innovate and compete globally. This bill will help protect vital intellectual property, and I am pleased to be a cosponsor. Trade secrets are the lifeblood of so many businesses in American. Stealing those ideas can wipe out years of research by employees and development and cost millions of dollars in losses because competitors--those that steal the secrets--reap the benefits of innovation without putting in any of the work. Although measuring the total cost of trade secret theft is difficult, one study using multiple approaches estimates the yearly cost at 1 to 3 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product. Today, as much as 80 percent of companies' assets are intangible, the majority of them in the form of trade secrets. This includes everything from financial, business, scientific, technical, economic, and engineering information to formulas, designs, prototypes, processes, procedures, and computer code. Trade secret theft poses a particular risk for my home State of Minnesota, which has a strong tradition of innovation and bringing technological advances to the marketplace.…”