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Title 7 — Agriculture

Chapter 54 — Transportation, Sale, and Handling of Certain Animals

§ 2157. Release of trade secrets

Statutory text

(a)

Release of confidential information prohibited

It shall be unlawful for any member of an Institutional Animal Committee to release any confidential information of the research facility including any information that concerns or relates to—

(1)

the trade secrets, processes, operations, style of work, or apparatus; or

(2)

the identity, confidential statistical data, amount or source of any income, profits, losses, or expenditures,

of the research facility.

(b)

Wrongful use of confidential information prohibited

It shall be unlawful for any member of such Committee—

(1)

to use or attempt to use to his advantages; or

(2)

to reveal to any other person,

any information which is entitled to protection as confidential information under subsection (a).

(c)

Penalties

A violation of subsection (a) or (b) is punishable by—

(1)

removal from such Committee; and

(2)
(A)

a fine of not more than $1,000 and imprisonment of not more than one year; or

(B)

if such violation is willful, a fine of not more than $10,000 and imprisonment of not more than three years.

(d)

Recovery of damages by injured person; costs; attorney’s fee

Any person, including any research facility, injured in its business or property by reason of a violation of this section may recover all actual and consequential damages sustained by such person and the cost of the suit including a reasonable attorney’s fee.

(e)

Other rights and remedies

Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect any other rights of a person injured in its business or property by reason of a violation of this section. Subsection (d) shall not be construed to limit the exercise of any such rights arising out of or relating to a violation of subsections (a) and (b).

Legislative history

Reconstructed from this section’s Code source credit and amendment notes, resolved against the local Statutes at Large. Editorial notes are evidence, not the law that made the change.

  1. Pub. L. 89–544 § 27 · 80 Stat. 350

    Enacted · 7 U.S.C. § 2157

    (Pub. L. 89–544, § 27, as added Pub. L. 99–198, title XVII, § 1754, Dec. 23, 1985, 99 Stat. 1649.)

    Source evidence

    Code source credit
    (Pub. L. 89–544, § 27, as added Pub. L. 99–198, title XVII, § 1754, Dec. 23, 1985, 99 Stat. 1649.)

0 of 1 references resolved to an enrolled provision · 1 partial

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Section effective one year after , see section 1759 of Pub. L. 99–198, set out as an Effective Date of 1985 Amendment note under section 2131 of this title.

Credits

(Pub. L. 89–544, § 27, as added Pub. L. 99–198, title XVII, § 1754, , 99 Stat. 1649.)

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