![]() ![]() In common parlance, ‘trade secret’ refers to a secret process, technique or formula used for the manufacturing or processing of a product. The phrase ‘Trade Secret’ has not been defined under any Indian statute or even the TRIPS Agreement. Therefore, the exposure of ‘ trade secrets’ to theft is quite explicit. Moreover, a study conducted by the European Commission in 2016 revealed that in the last decade, twenty percent of businesses had experienced at least one act, or attempt, of theft of ‘secret information’. The European Commission, in its report, has stated that secrecy for a business is as important as patents or other IP for any scale of business organization. In this regard, the most prone to corporate espionage are ‘trade secrets’, thanks to their significant role in market competition. With companies placing complete reliance on the technology, corporate espionage has become even more enticing in today’s day and age owing to its ‘low cost – high yield’ and convenience. Competitive intelligence, if efficiently utilised, can act as a real game-changer as it promotes innovation and helps in formulating long term strategies. Evidently, the differences between the two are as blurry as can be. These include the competitor’s websites, analyst reports, etc., to formulate their business strategy. In developing competitive intelligence, companies gather and analyse information about the industry and its competitors through various sources. Notably, the former is ‘negative’, while the latter is the ‘positive’ side of the same coin. The objective of both corporate espionage and competitive intelligence is to gain a competitive advantage over other players in the market. In the context of corporate espionage, it is equally relevant and important to talk about ‘competitive intelligence’. About Corporate EspionageĬorporate Espionage is the practice of obtaining confidential information from other companies through illicit and unethical means to gain a competitive advantage. This makes it extremely difficult to trace as cyber thieves use ultra-modern technology that consists of spear-phishing, ransomware, and zero-day malware attacks, etc. Our increased reliance on IT systems and cyberspace has paved way for corporate espionage through the exploitation of cyberspace (for the purpose of this post, all references to corporate espionage shall be limited to cyber-espionage). The advent of technology has made ‘cyberspace’ the most frequently used medium for theft of confidential information such as trade secrets, business plans, technological surveillance, etc. Physical theft of confidential documents and information to obtain the competitors’ secrets has become obsolete in the present era of ‘Go Virtual’. Healthy competition is always encouraged, but when the means to achieve victory is unethical and illegal, the same can distort the spirit of others in the field. With ‘survival of the fittest’ being the motto of existing global markets, there is cut-throat competition as it is every company’s objective to reach the top of the ladder of success first. “The loss of industrial information and intellectual property through cyber espionage constitutes the greatest transfer of wealth in history.” – Gen. ![]()
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