Federal Circuit Issues Precedential Trade Secret Ruling

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued a precedential decision reversing a district court's judgment upholding a jury verdict of trade secret misappropriation and a $59.4 million damages award in favor of Insulet Corp.

In a split ruling with Judge Prost dissenting, the majority held that the statute of limitations under the Defend Trade Secrets Act had expired. The court found that Insulet knew or should have known of the alleged misappropriation by March 2019, requiring suit by 2022, but the claim was filed in August 2023.

The decision, authored by Judge Dyk, reverses the award and remands the case. It provides guidance on the DTSA discovery rule for when a plaintiff had sufficient knowledge to state a claim.

The ruling was issued May 28, 2026.

Sources: https://ipwatchdog.com/2026/05/28/split-cafc-issues-precedential-decision-on-trade-secret-statute-of-limitations-standard/ https://www.finnegan.com/en/insights/blogs/at-the-ptab-blog/consistency-is-key-uspto-issues-three-new-informative-decisions.html