Addressing the Global Scope of Intellectual Property Crimes and Policy Initiatives

The need for an international regime to protect intellectual property creations can be traced back in history to the Industrial Revolution during which new manufacturing techniques and new industrial products were developed and exported, thus increasing commercial and cultural relations between countries. For most people, intellectual property is either an unknown, misunderstood, or mysterious term. Technology and creative arts pervade modern society, yet few actually realize that their daily lives are surrounded by intellectual property creations from which legal rights of all sorts, including their own, arise. Building public awareness of the role of intellectual property is key to fostering a broad understanding of what intellectual property is and respect for the system that promotes and protects intellectual property rights. This article provides a survey of the current worldwide response to intellectual property crime and raises policy considerations for the future.     

High-tech Crimes and the American Economic Machine

Studies demonstrate that technology owned by US corporations is a highly valued commodity in the international arena. The Economic Espionage Act of 1996 was signed into law to help protect against misappropriations of that technology. This article chronicles some of the recent prosecutions under that law and some emerging issues of enforcement.     

The Worldwide Search for Techno-thieves: International Competition v. International Co-operation

In an age of explosive worldwide growth of electronic data storage and communications, many vital interests require the effective protection of information. Today's information age requires businesses to compete on a worldwide basis, sharing sensitive information with appropriate parties while protecting that information against competitors, vandals, suppliers, customers, and foreign governments. Elements of the US civilian infrastructure, such as the banking system, the electric power grid, the public switched telecommunications network, and the air traffic control system, are central to so many dimensions of modern life that protecting these elements must have a high priority. Governments have an important stake in assuring that rival nations do not appropriate technology.