Former FBI director highlights need for intellectual property protection

As we discussed recently on this blog, businesses can take steps to protect their intellectual property by having workers sign non-disclosure and non-compete agreements to keep them from leaving with company trade secrets or to keep them from taking their talent to a competing company after a reasonable amount of time. 

A recent article in the New York Times discussed how more businesses have been using non-compete agreements, expanding their use beyond the technology sector where they have been commonly implemented. It is believed by some that these agreements could end up posing a threat to innovation, but for some companies, the need for intellectual property protection may be even greater.

According to an article in the Houston Chronicle, former FBI Director Louis Freeh says that financial institutions and other companies should be strengthening their efforts to protect intellectual property. Freeh spoke at the 25th annual Global Fraud Conference, and explained that businesses are losing hundreds of billions of dollars every year as a result of losses from intellectual property and copyright infringement. 

"Corporate governance groups have enormous concerns over their companies not understanding the protection of intellectual property. It's a critical part of our economic and national security," said Freeh. 

He went on to explain that companies can take steps to protect their intellectual property by performing more thorough due-diligence and implementing agreements, according to the source. It was also noted that today, that technology used to steal intellectual property has moved beyond laws that were created to help prevent theft from occurring. 

Intellectual property theft is an important matter deserving serious consideration and vigilance. A Phoenix, AZ small business attorney can provide expert counsel in these matters and help develop a strategy to protect against intellectual property theft and copyright infringement. 

Categorised in: Intellectual Property Law

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