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Anatomy of an IP Theft

By Michael R. Bandemer
August 28, 2007

Matters related to intellectual property ('IP') have become so common in our e-discovery and computer-forensics practice that when we tell our staff there's a new matter requiring our attention, the general response is typically: 'Let me guess ' another company where a former employee has left for a competitor or created a startup, and allegedly stole the company's key intellectual property to get a head start.'

From that point, we delve into another adventure to hunt down the next smoking gun and, in some instances, the silver bullet.

Our collection of smoking guns is quite extensive. Here's a sampling of the wares:

  • Evidence of attorneys taking firms' client lists and templates;
  • Manufacturing managers taking formulas and processes;
  • Sales staff taking customer lists and contracts;
  • Engineers taking software programs; and
  • Designers taking drawings and illustrations.

The scenarios are wide-ranging and the stakes are high.

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