The Department of Justice recently warned that there has been a dramatic rise in trade secret theft. The DOJ points to China as the primary sponsor of such trade secret theft. Speaking with CNBC, U.S. Deputy Assistant Attorney General Adam Hickey stated that supply chain and telecommunication companies are prime targets of foreign governments seeking to improve their own industrial knowledge. China in particular has launched a “Made in China 2025” campaign in which it is seeking to become a dominant global high-tech manufacturer, and has, therefore, created an environment that rewards theft of intellectual property.
While the Chinese threat garners news headlines, employers face a less existential, but nonetheless critical, threat to their trade secrets and other intellectual property: their own employees. The concern is not just employees who wish to steal their employer’s trade secrets for their own purposes, such as creating a competing business venture. Employees can jeopardize their employer’s trade secrets merely by being lackadaisical in protecting such secrets.
