On September 7, 2016, in GlobeRanger Corp. v. Software AG United States of America, Inc., the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed its earlier decision—on appeal from the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas—ruling that trade secret misappropriation claims involving copyrightable subject matter are not preempted by the Copyright Act, because they require the establishment of additional elements not covered by copyright law ( (5th Cir. Sept. 7, 2016)). The Fifth Circuit noted that this ruling places it in line with all ten other circuits that have considered whether common law trade secret claims are preempted by the Copyright Act.

GlobeRanger Corp. entered into a contract to provide radio frequency identification (RFID) technology to the US Navy. After GlobeRanger installed its systems at three naval bases, the Navy decided to switch systems, and contracted with Software AG United States of America, Inc. (Software AG) to change the GlobeRanger systems to Software AG technology. Software AG accessed some of GlobeRanger's data, manuals, and software while working on the Navy contract. GlobeRanger asserted that in doing so, Software AG misappropriated its trade secrets.

The Northern District of Texas exercised supplemental jurisdiction over the Texas state trade secret misappropriation claim based on a related, later-dismissed conversion claim, and found that the trade secret misappropriation claim was preempted by the Copyright Act as equivalent to the Act's anti-copying law (17 U.S.C. § 501). An earlier Fifth Circuit panel overturned the dismissal, holding that some factual allegations of the trade secret claim were outside the subject matter of the Copyright Act and therefore not preempted.

The Fifth Circuit affirmed its earlier ruling, holding that the trade secret claim was not preempted by the Copyright Act, even though it concerned the alleged copying of copyrightable subject matter, because trade secret claims involve an extra element not found in copyright law. Trade secret law protects against any taking that occurs through the breach of a confidential relationship or other improper means. Because of the extra element requiring that the subject matter be taken via improper means or breach of a confidential relationship, the Fifth Circuit found the trade secret misappropriation claim not preempted by the Copyright Act.

After also considering challenges to the sufficiency of the evidence, the damages award, and jury instructions, the Fifth Circuit affirmed a $15 million judgment in favor of GlobeRanger.