Intellectual Property Theft: It’s happening

Protecting and managing Intellectual Property is critical when establishing a presence on the market and is often the difference between failure and success.

Many people are confused, or simply misinformed, about what exactly Intellectual Property is and how it’s used. Because of this, we’ve compiled an easy to understand summary of intellectual property and what it means to creators, audiences, investors and just about everyone else.

Key Concepts

• Intellectual Property has the same ownership rights as that of other property. If an idea is stolen then that thief faces the same legal repercussions they would if they were to steal the car out of your garage.

• The creator of IP is not necessarily the owner. Ownership can be arranged through appropriate contractual arrangements. Photographers may sell their work to brands, agencies and alike. An artist may sell a graphic that can be purchased and then used of repurposed in anyway the buyer likes. It all depends on the contractual agreement.

An example of this type of ownership might be if someone were to work at an advertising firm and they came up with a fantastic slogan for a shampoo. There is a good chance that person doesn’t own the slogan because of a contract signed, relinquishing their intellectual property to the company.

Ownership

Ownership of IP comes down to you being able to show you are the ‘creator’ or ‘author’. Keep in mind that this ownership is pretty much always open to a challenge in court from other parties who believe they possess the rights to a piece of work. Because of this, it is important that those investing in IP understand the potential risks and manage these through secure contracts.

The best way to protect ownership is by understanding the law through agreements and warranties within standard IP contracts. Always read through the contract yourself and pass it on to a lawyer before signing away the rights to your hard work.

Transferability

IP rights can be used for commercial advantage and are negotiable. Just like anything else, these rights can generally be bought, licensed, sold, given away or made public.

How individuals license or sell IP comes down to your business and negotiation skills. Know how much you and your work are worth. If you don’t, you may be signing away your best stuff for pittance. As a word to the wise, if someone wants to purchase something off you but keep telling you it’s really not worth anything, you have to question, just why exactly do they want it so bad?

International Rights

Let’s be clear. Intellectual property rights are territorial. This means they are individually dealt in each territory you intend to trade. For example, a trademark, patent or design granted in Australia isn’t automatically granted in other countries.

Copyright is the only IP right recognised in the global market. Every other forms of IP needs to be specifically approved and assessed in each country you intend to conduct business in. If you have intentions to market a service or product overseas, it’s essential you plan carefully and understand the different various IP protection laws. There are many different costs and time implications in each country that are vital to know.

Finally, the point of Intellectual Property rights is to reward and encourage innovation. Owners are given the advantage to take control of their creations and because of this, competitors are limited.

I sincerely feel the IP will become a growing concern for business owners in 2014 and 2015. Particularly as businesses become more digitalised and data becomes an increasingly important commodity, the possibility of a your IP being breached, leaked and/or stolen by a rogue employee (or hacker) is at an all time high. We’ll be writing on this more but have a look at my 2014 cyber crime predictions post from earlier in the year to find out about what you as a business need to be looking out for.

The post 4 Things You Need to Know to Stop Intellectual Property Theft first appeared on Investigators.

It was the missing person case Australia never forgot and the criminal Australia will never forgive. Keep reading to find out how Brett Cowan’s string of lies and years of dodging the justice system were finally put to an end.

The post Australia’s biggest missing person case cracked first appeared on Investigators.

What Lies Beneath

From the outside, Mr Melchert-Dinkel seemed like an ordinary husband. A father of two and former male-nurse, this Minnesota man hid a terrible secret.

In 2012 Melrchert-Dinkel was found guilty of aiding the suicide of 19-year-old student, Nadia Kajouji, in 2008 and 31-year-old, Mark Drybrough, in 2005 by posing as a compassionate female nurse. At first his relationship with the two Brits was supportive and compassionate but these relationships soon took a very dark turn as Melchert-Dinkel began to instruct the two on how to take their own lives. His conviction was recently overturned as:

‘The court found that the state’s suicide law, which prohibits the “encouraging” of suicide, was unconstitutional and violated a persons freedom of speech. “Assisting” suicide is still illegal, however.’

Read more at: http://www.heavy.com/news/2014/03/william-melchert-dinkel-suicide-minnesota-nurse/

This bizarre case opened many eyes to what sort of online communities exist in the deep web but what are the things you need to know about this secret and deeply shady world?

The Underbelly of the Web

Drybrough committed suicide shortly after posting a question on an online forum about how to hang one’s self without a high ceiling. Posing as Li Dao, a 25-year-old woman who was also suicidal, Melchert-Dinkel started up an email conversation with Drybrough that lasted between July 1 and July 22. Within four days of Drybrough writing the following to “Dao” he was dead:

“I keep holding on to the hope that things might change. Caught between being suicidal and considering it. Same old story! . . . I don’t want to waste anyone’s time. If you want someone who’s suicidal, I’m just not there yet. . . . Sorry. I admire your courage, I wish I had it.”

Three years later, posing as “Cami” and lurking around an online website where people discuss suicide, Melchert-Dinkel started correspondence with Nadia. Merely hours after their final chat, Nadia was dead after jumping into a frozen river. “Cami” had reportedly encouraged Nadia to commit suicide, even suggesting the idea of a suicide pact performed over WebCam.

She wasn’t the only one.

State v. Melchert-Dinkel, A11-0987 (Minn. Ct. App.; July 17, 2012)

The Deep Web: it’s not all dark

While suicide chat rooms encouraging people to seek help exist on the surface web, the Deep Web hosts many more sites where people are free to engage in darker discussions. Due to the provision of anonymity the Deep Web is often a breeding ground for activity that is normally regulated online.

Read on for more info about the Deep Web.

1. What is the deep web?

Also known as the ‘Invisible Web’, this is the content that can’t be found by common search engines.

2. How big is it?

In all estimations, the deep web is around 500x the size of the surface web (content found by google/yahoo)

3. How do you access it?

You must use a dedicated browser. The most popular router is called TOR (The Onion Router) but other options include 12P and Freenet.

4. Where is it?

Information on the Deep Web is not accessed directly. There is no data held on a single page but rather databases. Files on these databases are also shared through a number of computers which is known as peer-to-peer networking (P2P).

5. Is it Legal?

Yes. The Deep Web can be accessed by anyone and many people are using it to maintain privacy whilst online.

6. Do criminals use it?

Yes. Because of the anonymity the Deep Web provides, it has become a hotspot for underground and illegal activity. Hitmen, weapon trading, child pornography and drug distribution are some examples.

7. What does the future hold?

The Deep Web is a useful tool to remain anonymous online and keep information hidden but this cloak also provides a medium for reprehensible activity to thrive.

As the Deep Web becomes more accessible to the common internet user, we can only expect the Deep Web to expand and with that comes more exposure. Whether this means illegal activity increases or disbands is anyone’s guess.

We’ll have to wait and see.

Computer forensics is a rambling topic with many implications for the future of investigations. As the deep web opens up more spaces for criminal activity the need for professionals to delve into these murky sub-sectors will rise also.

The post “Encouraged” to their deaths: the murky underside of the web first appeared on Investigators.