A trade-secret owner has 3 years after discovery to file a federal civil corporate-espionage lawsuit. Criminal charges must start within 5 years, while FBI reporting has no fixed claim-form deadline and should be made promptly.
Corporate espionage here means theft or misuse of business trade secrets. There is no single settlement claim form. Businesses generally face two separate tracks: a civil lawsuit for compensation and a report to federal law enforcement for criminal investigation.
Official resources:
- Read the official guidance from Govinfo — Use this primary source to verify the official guidance.
- Read the official guidance from Cornell — Use this primary source to verify the official guidance.
Table of Contents
- How long do you have to file a federal civil case?
- Does ongoing use restart the 3-year clock?
- What deadline applies to criminal prosecution?
- How quickly should you report to the FBI?
How long do you have to file a federal civil case?
According to the Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute, the owner must sue no later than 3 years after discovery in a case under the federal civil trade-secret law. Discovery includes the date the owner should have found the theft through reasonable diligence.
That diligence rule matters for companies, employees with access to files, vendors, and buyers of stolen information. A company that receives a suspicious resignation, download log, or competitor product match should investigate and calendar the deadline at once.
Does ongoing use restart the 3-year clock?
No. For the civil calculation, continuing misuse is treated as one single misappropriation claim. According to the U.S.
House Office of Law Revision Counsel, reproduced by Houston Harbaugh, later uses do not restart the period under the 2018 text of the Economic Espionage Act. This limit affects victims who learn of theft but watch further sales before suing. Each added month of unauthorized use does not create a fresh federal filing period. The clock still runs from the first discovery date.
What deadline applies to criminal prosecution?
Federal non-capital offenses must be charged by indictment or information within 5 years after commission. According to the U.S. Government Publishing Office, that general rule covers Economic Espionage Act charges with no special period under the federal criminal time-limit law.
The 5-year rule controls the government case, not a victim payout claim. A business cannot file criminal charges itself. It can supply facts so prosecutors can act before the period expires.
How quickly should you report to the FBI?
The FBI maintains a checklist for reporting economic espionage or trade-secret theft and tells victim companies to complete it and contact federal law enforcement. There is no published claim-form cutoff. The emphasis is on prompt insider-threat reporting.
According to FBI guidance, reports can go through tips.fbi.gov, the local FBI office, and the company security officer, as described in the FBI insider-threat guidance. Useful early steps include: Reporting to law enforcement does not pause the civil filing deadline. A business should report quickly for investigation and separately track the 3-year civil discovery date, because delay during suspicion plus slow investigation can forfeit the federal lawsuit.
- preserve access logs, devices, emails, and employment records
- complete the FBI reporting checklist
- contact the local FBI office and corporate security promptly