How Intellectual Property Leaks Affect Business Innovation, Financial Stability, and Competitive Advantage

Intellectual Property Leaks

The repercussions of private and IP leaks can have long-lasting effects on business innovation, financial stability, and competitive advantage. Implementing a solution to detect and respond to these types of attacks is essential for all businesses to stay ahead of the competitors, limit the impact on their bottom line and restore their reputation after an unfortunate incident.

Intellectual property is an umbrella term that refers to the human minds, such as inventions and literary and artistic works. It also includes designs, names, or symbols used for commerce. On the more practical level intellectual property covers confidential information that provides companies with a competitive advantage like business processes, computer programs, manufacturing methodologies and client lists.

These assets are often intangible, and their value isn’t always recognized or quantified. However they are nonetheless important assets for businesses that need to be protected. In the past, would-be thieves needed to pinch a physical artifact (say a blueprint or a Virtual Board Rooms client list) to steal intellectual property. However, due to the digital revolution it is now simpler and less costly for cybercriminals to steal these valuable assets.

Human error is at the root of some of these thefts for example, sending confidential documents to the wrong person, or losing a device with sensitive information. However, some are deliberate, and often the motive is monetary. Semiconductor manufacturers, for example, can face heavy fines if they publish their IP outside of the country without a deemed export license. The presence of a complete IP lifecycle management system in place like Helix IPLM will help to reduce these risks and avoid the leakage of this highly sensitive information.