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IP Horror Stories
Horror Story #1 "No Sunday Picnic" continued....

Ian called his general manager into the office and gave her the outlines of what he had just discovered and prepared her for what they needed to do next. The GM then called Michelle into Ian's office.

The Police, Or...
Once the door was closed, Ian got straight to the point and revealed that he had discovered that Michelle had come in the day before and emailed confidential information to her personal email address. He explained that she had two options: Ian could call the police now and get them involved or Michelle could let their IT people have access to her personal computer and erase the business's proprietary materials as well as ensure that the files had not been emailed on to yet another address.

There was a long silence - you could have heard a pin drop. Finally Michelle took a deep breath and apologised. She admitted that she had made a 'huge mistake'. She gave access to her personal computer and was dismissed that day.

Practical Solutions: 10 Actions You Can Take in Your Own Business

Clearly there are a few things that Ian did right and a few things that he did wrong. Here are some suggestions that you may wish to consider for your own business and peace of mind:

    1. Investigate programs like MailMarshall which the business owner in this horror story actually used to discover the email theft. Click here to be taken to the MailMarshall website. Also consider document management programs that watch the movement and 'shadows' of all documents no matter what format they are in. Click here to learn more about TechTonics, a New Zealand provider.
2. Make sure your staff understand their obligations and responsibilities to confidential information when they are hired through your letter of offer, their job description, employment agreement, again at induction, in your employee handbook, through IP Training, by establishing an "IP culture" and finally at the exit interview.
3. Ensure staff are issued with company mobile phones, laptops, diaries, journals, etc so that these - and the data they hold - can be returned when employment ceases.
4. Use "Confidential Information" as a header or footer or stamp on sensitive documents to help so that staff can't claim ignorance, i.e. that they didn't know something was confidential.
5. Provide IP Training for all staff - scroll down to see our 2008 IP Training Calendar or click here to see just some of the companies we have provided IP Training for.
6. Identify your major IP assets including trade marks, patents, designs, confidential information through an IP Wealth IP audit or IP diagnostic. Click here to learn more.
7. Once an employee announces their resignation some employers walk them directly to their desk, have them pack their personal things and escort them off the premises.
8. Carefully document sensitive discussions with an employee where termination or further action may be taken, and it is advisable to have a witness to these discussions such as the GM in the above story.
9. Immediately cut-off physical and digital access by collecting keys and swipe cards and terminating passwords.
10. Seek advice from your IP lawyer about your letter of offer, employment agreement and the potential for using covenants to help restrict employees from becoming competitors. Speak to your IP lawyer BEFORE establishing any email monitoring programs and before taking action against any employee who may have stolen intellectual property assets. If you need an IP lawyer please ask any IP Wealth account manager for an immediate referral.

*All names have been changed.

Please note that none of the information contained in this story or the abovementioned suggestions is legal advice. Each situation is different and you may require the services of an IP lawyer. None of the above is an endorsement of specific products and/or services.