Suspect Intellectual Property Theft, Trade Secrets Theft or Patent Theft?
Computer Forensics for Louisiana businesses uncovers suspected intellectual property theft, theft of trade secrets and patent theft by investigating computers, smart phones, cell phones, hard drives, servers and other data storage devices. Common types of intellectual property include copyrights, trademarks, patents, industrial design rights and trade secrets including but not limited to intangible assets like musical, literary, and artistic works; discoveries and inventions; and words, phrases, symbols, and designs.
Intellectual property theft and trade secret theft often go unnoticed until an employee is terminated and begins working for a competitor that suddenly introduces a new product or process that is virtually identical to yours. By performing a computer forensic investigation on any electronic devices the employee had access to, sufficient evidence can be found to prove theft of intellectual business property and or trade secrets. This evidence can be used in court to stop the competitor's use, prosecute the responsible party(s) and win damages in a lawsuit.
According to the US Government's definition of loss, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) found that in 2002, more than half of convicted IP theft defendants had an infringement value over $70,000. In civil intellectual property theft cases in 2002, the DOJ noted that in 57.7% of successfully prosecuted cases, the amount awarded was at least $500,000.
The best thing you or management can do when terminating an employee is to capture a forensic image of the employees computer, cell phone, smart phone, laptop and any other device used during employment. This forensic image preserves the information on the device so that if necessary, a computer forensic investigation can be performed to uncover, document and prove intellectual property, trade secrets and patent theft. It also protects the information from being deleted, modified or changed which may result in tainted or tampered evidence and cause you to lose your case on technicalities.
Louisiana Computer Forensic Investigators use specialized software to identify and restore formatted, corrupted, deleted or hidden files from computers or other electronic media while maintaining crucial data trails, time & date stamps and accurate chain of custody & controls. They also obtain access to protected or encrypted data by using specialized software. They are able to untangle the web of data and analyze emails, Internet searches, file transfers, online account transactions and anything else a computer, smart phone, cell phone or removable media is used for whether on or off the Internet.
Steps You Should Take To Preserve Evidence
The first step is to identify all potential devices that may contain evidence. Louisiana computer forensics will help you identify any devices you should consider investigating.
The second step is to capture a forensic image of each device in order to preserve the integrity of the evidence and prevent tampering, deleting or modifying of important evidence. DO NOT attempt to view, look at or save evidence yourself! Doing so will change time and dates and result in the evidence being inadmissible in court. DO Not allow others to view, save, copy or try to find evidence for the same reasons. Strict protocols and procedures must be followed in order to use the evidence in court. That's why it is vital to hire a company like Computer Forensics Associates to perform the evidence collection and analysis.
The third step is to analyze the devices to find the evidence you need to prove your case. Once the information is collected and analyzed you'll receive a report of our findings so you can go over the information and evidence with your client or attorney and determine how to proceed.
The types of information that can be collected in Louisiana by a Computer Forensics Investigator include:
- plain text and documents
- images
- calendar files
- databases
- spreadsheets
- digital faxes
- audio files
- animation
- websites visited
- social media communications
- chat sessions and instant messages
If you suspect intellectual property theft, trade secrets theft or patent theft and you need to prove it, you need to to take immediate action to capture and preserve the evidence. Computer Forensics Associates can help you take the steps to collect the evidence you need to protect yourself and your business from further loss and help prove and win your case in court.