When thinking about the security of your business, it’s easy to place focus on brick and mortar assets, valuable inventory, and carefully counted financials. However, there is another area of your business that needs to be protected at all costs. As the FBI confirms, intellectual property theft robs unsuspecting U.S. businesses of billions of dollars every year, stealing job security from hard-working Americans and tax revenues in the process. The takeaway? Don’t let your lack of awareness make you a number in next year’s statistics.
Why is intellectual property protection such a prolific problem? Well, estimates place the value of intellectual property at about 70% of all business equity. This plump statistic makes the data and—in fact—the very ideas that fuel your business a tempting target for aspiring criminals. As such, an intellectual property private investigator is an ally that shouldn’t be overlooked.
- Who Are the Perpetrators Behind Intellectual Property Theft?
When someone decides to steal your organization’s customer data, product plans, pricing strategy, or design secrets, it’s important to know that while they might be an unknown agent, the criminal in question could well be a trusted insider—a wolf in your midst. It is a sad truth that disgruntled or ill-intentioned employees take it upon themselves to steal sensitive data from the hand that feeds them every day in America, making complacency a dangerous game indeed.
Perhaps a rival business has approached a member of your team with an under-the-table offer, or maybe they hope to gather intel before setting up a rival business. Whatever the motivation, common data extraction tactics include the use of external media such as a writable CD or USB mass storage device, or harnessing corporate email accounts to send information off-site. In other instances, intellectual property theft may involve hacking, making digital security paramount to your IP’s security. Establishing IT and site monitoring procedures and media policy controls are also key to maintaining employee best practices, supported by well-constructed non-compete agreements for staff privy to precious information.
- Prevention and Cure: Hiring An Intellectual Property Investigator
When a company suspects intellectual property theft, there is no time to waste. Whether a copyright investigation, a trademark theft investigation, or a more nuanced IP infringement investigation is called for, you can be certain that the longer that information is in circulation, the greater the potential threat to your company. As such, setting an intellectual property theft investigator to the task of tracing the breach, identifying proof, and gathering the evidence that will allow you to act quickly is a shrewd move indeed.
In parallel, many businesses choose to engage a private investigator as a form of proactive intellectual property protection. Experts within this corporate field can conduct careful analysis of your IP assets, detecting any potential vulnerabilities or violations before crisis sets in. A skilled corporate theft investigator from Lauth Investigations international will work tirelessly to prevent intellectual property breaches, global piracy, counterfeiting, and insider threats, utilizing tools such as data mining techniques, surveillance, and field investigation to uncover facts inaccessible to your HR department.
Is your intellectual property safe from prying eyes? If in doubt, contact Lauth Investigations International today, for bespoke guidance from a dedicated IP infringement investigator. Your intellectual assets represent the future prosperity of your brand, so don’t leave their integrity to chance.