What is IP Theft and How to Protect Your Company Against it
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The difficulty with intellectual property is that it is non-tangible as it is cemented in ideas, certain trademarks, artistic materials and sensitive data. The traditional thinking surrounding theft is theft of tangible property. In contrast thereof, the theft of ideas posed a problem because ideas are intangible and cannot be touched, tasted or smelled.
Usually it is protected by legislation, whereas common law regulates physical property. Common law is the unwritten law which is handed down by judges and is based on precedent.
Because in earlier years it had been a novel concept, the legislatures in different countries had to create a legislative framework that regulated intellectual property theft as it can cause business and monetary value to decrease. Intellectual property theft protection is shielding the creator against theft of their creations or ideas or from breaches in data.
They established the legal framework for protection through intellectual property rights which fall under trademarks that associate and protect a brand to various designs and phrases, copyrights protecting written work, patents granting legal rights and trade secrets that allow protection of company secrets against protection.
How to Protect Against Theft
Monitoring Systems
You would have an understanding of the type of intellectual property that needs protection. The input of the information into the various systems of storage would have been determined and understood, these are the resources used to create and the IT systems used for processing. The outputs determine where the information goes and the distribution strategies used to get there.
With a risk management approach, you’d want to examine and monitor systems to secure the data housed within these resources and systems. Monitoring your resources allows you to keep track of activities in real time, analyze patterns from the past and present, and be alerted to anything unusual.
Cybersecurity Measures
The integration of preventative cybersecurity measures is important to use alongside monitoring systems. The security and tools you employ help avoid theft and breaches, but the tools you employ must be simple to incorporate into business activities. Firewall technologies are crucial for protecting your internal systems and networks from external intrusions, just as antivirus software is crucial for detecting viruses and preventing system assaults.
IT companies in San Antonio, TX, for example, can help protect against being targeted and establish defenses utilizing best practices. Restrictions through authentication and encryption assists in data control as well as permission authentication on downloads or uploads prevents malware from breaching.
Employee Training, Policies and Agreements
According to the Michelson Institute for Intellectual Property, rules must be implemented, employees trained, and policies enforced to ensure that employees understand the value of intellectual property, the consequences posed by breaches, and how to utilize corporate technology responsibly.
Employees are an important factor to consider when it comes to protecting intellectual property. The education of employees assists in the awareness of breaches and can be a further preventative measure. Employee confidentiality and nondisclosure agreements as well as policies create benchmarks and protect the company from harm. It ensures adherence and can be a constant resource one can go to if needed.
