When most people think of theft, they think of having a laptop, a wallet, or a piece of jewelry stolen. There’s no doubt that being a victim of any type of theft can be very distressing. But what if you were to invest countless hours and money into an invention only to have the idea stolen? “This type of crime is what’s called trade secret theft,” explains FBI Special Agent Karl Schmae. “It can be absolutely devastating to the person or company that has put a lot of time and money into developing a product.” Special Agent Schmae is assigned to the FBI Salt Lake City Field Office and teaches companies how to guard their trade secrets. A trade secret can be anything from a unique food recipe to a specialized car part. In other words, it’s what sets one company or product apart from all the others. Sometimes it’s an insider, such as an employee, who will steal the information to sell. In other cases it may be an outsider, perhaps a computer hacker, who gains access to private files. Whatever the circumstance, the bottom line is at stake. “Imagine the financial edge a competitor stands to gain if they get information and documents that detail how to make the product that you or your company designed,” says Schmae.
The FBI investigates theft of trade secrets under the Economic Espionage Act. For successful prosecution, it’s imperative that companies take reasonable measures to protect their trade secrets from the start. How can do they do this? Companies should identify what their trade secret is and limit access to that information. Personnel who are granted access should sign non-disclosure agreements. Schmae strongly recommends companies secure or lock up the information and provide mandatory security awareness training for employees. Finally, a company should destroy any trade secret information that’s no longer needed.
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