Basics

Intellectual Property Protection: The Basics

Your company's intellectual property, whether that's patents, trade secrets or just employee know-how, may be more valuable than its physical assets. This primer covers everything from establishing basic policies and procedures to guarding against intellectual property loss or theft.

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Updated 5/8/08. This primer has been compiled from CSO articles. Contributing writers include Michael Fitzgerald, Simone Kaplan, and Sarah Scalet. Send feedback to Editor Derek Slater at dslater@cxo.com

Related articles from CSO online:

Test Your Convergence IQ
Offsite meetings are fertile ground for corporate espionage artists. Take this quiz to find out if you can spot the intellectual property risks in a typical room in a conference center.

How to Stop a Laptop Thief
The data on a laptop is far more valuable than the device itself. Learn how to keep these devices from being stolen. (Hint: "Never leave your laptop unattended" is just the beginning.)

I've Got a (Trade) Secret
Trade secrets, patents and other legal classifications.

The Clean Desk Test: What's Wrong with This Picture?
Are employee workspaces exposing your company to intellectual property theft? Take our clean-desk policy quiz and find out.

Fighting Trim: An Interview with Bill Boni and Ira Winkler
CSO Executive Editor Derek Slater talks to top IP experts about fighting what they call "the death of a thousand cuts." Ira Winkler also answered reader questions.

Offshore Outsourcing: Big Savings, Big Risk
U.S. companies continue a pell-mell rush into offshore outsourcing of software development. Those that havent stopped to look at global intellectual property law are in for a big surprise. ("The ABCs of Intellectual Property Protection" draws heavily from this article.)

A Checklist for Handling Terminations
A poorly handled employee termination can create a slew of security risks, including intellectual property theft. Thats why CSOs need a process for letting workers go.

Snooping: By Hook or By Crook
Corporate spies come in many guises, but they all have one thing in common: They want to use your companys secrets for competitive gain. This is a five-step guide to how they operate. ("Intellectual Property Protection: The Basics" draws heavily from this article.)