Understanding and Mitigating the High Risk of Intellectual Property Rights

Intellectual property, a conception of creative ideas, can include designs, phrases, and symbols that characterize specific companies and are protected by laws in the form of intellectual property rights. These rights include copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, and patents that not only serve as a huge part of company revenue but also provide a competitive advantage in the form of monopolies. Because of the value of intellectual property, theft in the form of counterfeiting, exposure of trade secrets, and piracy is a real and probable threat. It is crucial for companies to develop thorough programs to protect these assets at all cost.

In the recent PWC State of Compliance 2013 survey, manufacturing companies ranked intellectual property as one of their top three risks. Devastating consequences can occur as a result of lax security and inadequate protection of a company’s intellectual property. For instance, Ford Motor Co suffered a $50 million loss after an engineer stole company documents before leaving the company to work for a competitor. [i]  President Trump recently chimed in on the theft of intellectual property of US companies by China, exclaiming that the theft could cost millions of US jobs and billions of dollars a year. [ii]

Companies need to be extra vigilant to identify the potential vulnerabilities and develop a strategy to measure those weaknesses and thus minimize risks. One of the most susceptible exposures is through a company’s software system. In June 2017, a global cyber-attack hit hospitals, major companies, and government offices, resulting in the shutting down of daily operations as well as the exposure of sensitive industry secrets. Along with computer hacking, other areas of concern include corporate spies that could pose as customers to steal valuable intelligence or sophisticated technology like laser microphones that enable thieves to listen in on meetings without ever entering the building.

To mitigate vulnerability and potential leaking of sensitive intellectual property, you need to implement a protection strategy. Obvious things like requiring new employees to sign confidentiality agreements are common, but what about conducting due diligence of foreign partners or registering trademarks and copyrights with CBAP and ensuring that other companies do not utilize similar trademarks and violate your property rights?  If you would like more information on protecting your company’s intellectual property or registering a patent or trademark, please contact Allyn International for further assistance.

References:

[ i ]  RMMagazine.com – Understanding the Risks

[ ii ] Freebeacon.com – National Security

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About Allyn International

Allyn International is dedicated to providing high quality, customer centric services and solutions for the global marketplace. Allyn's core products include transportation management, logistics sourcing, freight forwarding, supply chain consulting, tax management and global trade compliance.  Allyn clients range from small local businesses to Fortune 500 firms. Allyn conducts business in more than 20 languages and has extensive experience in both developed and emerging markets. Highly trained experts are positioned throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. Allyn’s regional headquarters are strategically located in Fort Myers, Florida, U.S.A, Shanghai, P.R. China and Prague, Czech Republic. For more information, visit www.allynintl.com.