Trends in Intellectual Property Loss Survey

• NCJ Number: 163682
• Author(s): R J Heffernan; D T Swartwood
• Date Published: 1996
• Length: 32 pages
• Corporate Author: American Soc for Industrial Security
• Sale Source: American Soc for Industrial Security
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

A 1995 survey of businesses based in the United States sought to determine corporate losses of intellectual property such as patents, copyrights, trademarks, and trade secrets and to measure its impact on companies.

Abstract

Responses came from 325 of the 4,000 mailed forms. Results revealed a 323-percent increase in reported incidents since the 1992 survey. Employees, contractors, vendors, and other insiders were involved in 74 percent of the reported incidents. Nearly 47 percent of all foreign incidents occurred in England, Canada, or Germany. Unauthorized use or disclosure of proprietary information accounted for 21 percent of the incidents. Loss of strategic plans, research and development data, and manufacturing processes accounted for two-thirds of the reported $5.1 billion loss. Only 76 percent of the reporting companies have formal programs for safeguarding proprietary information, including such components as written policy and procedure, proper disposal of proprietary materials, and monitoring of the use of the Internet. Findings indicated that the potential losses of intellectual property for all industry based in the United States could amount to $2 billion per month. Figures