Recent developments in the courts and the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) have conspired to diminish the perceived value of patents, and as a consequence, we are seeing a renewed emphasis on the use of trade secrets for the protection of innovations in biotechnology.1 Trade secret law has some definite advantages over patents, but also some significant limitations. This article explores the role of trade secret law in the protection of biotechnological innovation, provides some recent examples of trade secret cases involving biotechnology companies, and discusses pending legislation which would create a federal civil action for trade secret misappropriation.