6 Must Knows For Protecting Your Intellectual Property?

A subject seldom discussed over the IT water cooler is beginning to rise in the ranks, ie., Intellectual Property (IP).  Admittedly, Intellectual Property isn't IT's strong point. In fact, when pressed, very few IT professionals can accurately describe, let alone prioritize their companies Intelectual Property. IP protection is rising primarily due to the flurry of patents that the large technology organizations are filing and buying all to play the financial chess game to capture the hearts and minds, or more accurately their pocketbooks of the general public.

What is Intellectual property (IP)

Well depending upon who is asked, IP encompasses a wide range of documents, data and other assets that contain proprietary information.  The formal definition, according to the World Intellectual Property Organization, is creations of the mind — inventions, literary and artistic works, symbols, names, images and designs used in commerce.  IP can also be something broader and less tangible, such as an idea.  If the head of your R&D department has a “eureka” moment during his morning shower and then applies his new idea at work, that’s intellectual property too.  Not protecting IP is a huge mistake for companies and countries alike.  Intellectual property is what makes modern nations competitive in the world economy.  It fuels innovation and development, and it keeps you ahead of the competition.

Reasonably speaking, its not a stretch of the imagination that mountains of dollars were spent to make whatever makes your company unique among its competitors; however, you would be surprised to know that literally mole hills of dollars are spent actually securing these assets.  Why is this so?

Two CEO misconceptions  regarding IP

One is that the threat of economic espionage or trade secret  theft is a limited concern that it is only an issue if you are  holding on to something like the formula for Coca-Cola or  the design of the next Intel microprocessor.

The other, held  by many business leaders who acknowledge the danger to  their trade secrets and other IP, is that the nature of this  threat is sufficiently understood and adequately addressed.  Often, on closer inspection, the information protection programs these business leaders rely on are mired in Industrial  Age thinking; they have not been adapted to the dynamic  and dangerous new environment forged by globalization  and the rise of the Information Age.

What Are The 6 Must Knows For Intellectual Property Safety?

1. KNOW WHATS IMPORTANT  Keeping the value of what is important to yourself, just makes the responsibility of keeping it safe yours; however, If all employees understand what needs to be protected, they can assist you in your endeavor to protect it, and whom to protect it from.  Communicate on an ongoing basis with the executives who oversee intellectual capital. Meeting quarterly with CEO, COO and representatives from HR, marketing, sales, legal services, production and R&D at least once a quarter on who, what, where, why, and how your handling your Intellectual assets is a good start.
   
   
2. RISK ANALYSIS   Anyone in the intellectual property business will recommend doing a risk and cost-benefit analysis.  Making a map of your company's assets and determine what information, if lost, would hurt your company the most would make great strides in guiding you where to best spend your protective efforts (and money).
   
   
3. LABEL ASSETS  If it’s so important,   say so.  If your company data is proprietary, put a note to that effect on every log-in screen. This seems trivial, but if you wind up in court trying to prove someone took information they weren't authorized to take, your argument won't stand up if you can't demonstrate that you made it clear that the information was protected.
   
   
4. PROTECT IT   Physical and digital protection is a must. Lock the rooms where sensitive data is stored, whether it's the server farm or the musty paper archive room.  Keep track of who has the keys. Use dynamic (rotating) passwords and limit employee access to important databases.
   
   
5. EDUCATION  People are often the weakest link in the defensive chain. That's why an IP protection effort that counts on technology and copyrights, but not on employee awareness and training, is doomed to fail.  Awareness training can be effective for plugging and preventing IP leaks, but only if it's targeted to the information that a specific group of employees needs to guard.  When you talk in specific terms about something that engineers or scientists have invested a lot of time in, they're very attentive.
   
   
6. KNOW WHAT’S OUT THERE   The good news is that there is an abundance of software tools available; the bad news is that there is an abundance of software tools available.  These tools track, encrypt, and protect documents and other IP stores. This is where getting help is a good idea. Bring in IP consultants to wade through the weeds for you to determine the  best solution that fits your business needs and budget.

Source(s)

• http://assets.csoonline.com/documents/cache/pdfs/Intellectual_Property_Security_Guide.pdf

So “Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more;”

____________________________________________________________

About Rick Ricker

An IT professional with over 21 years experience in Information Security, wireless broadband, network and Infrastructure design, development, and support.

For more information, contact Rick at (800) 399-6085 x502