Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA): Federal law enacted in 2016 that provides uniform federal protection for trade secrets and allows companies to file civil lawsuits in federal court for trade secret misappropriation
Economic Espionage Act: Federal law that criminalizes the theft or misappropriation of trade secrets with the intent to benefit foreign powers or cause economic harm
Federal Rules of Evidence: Rules governing confidentiality in federal courts, particularly relevant for enforcement of NDAs and treatment of confidential information in litigation
Uniform Trade Secrets Act (UTSA): Model law adopted by most states that provides framework for trade secret protection and remedies for misappropriation at state level
National Labor Relations Act (NLRA): Federal law that protects employees' rights to discuss working conditions, which may limit scope of NDAs in employment context
Whistleblower Protection Laws: Federal and state laws that protect individuals who report violations of law, which must be explicitly carved out as exceptions in NDAs
HIPAA: Healthcare privacy law that imposes additional requirements if the NDA covers protected health information
Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act: Financial privacy law that imposes additional requirements if the NDA covers consumer financial information
GDPR Compliance: EU data protection regulation that may affect NDAs involving European personal data or entities
Contract Formation Requirements: Common law principles regarding offer, acceptance, consideration, and capacity required for valid contract formation
Reasonableness Standard: Legal principle requiring that NDA restrictions must be reasonable in scope, duration, and geographic coverage to be enforceable
Severability Doctrine: Legal principle allowing courts to maintain valid portions of an agreement if other portions are found unenforceable
