Why Worry about Economic Espionage?
• Today many new products can be quickly copied, often within 6 months, before companies have earned a return on their investment in research and development. Other products can be copied and sold globally with the profits going to organized crime or terrorists as well as to those who stole the technology • The quality of life, standards of living, economic opportunities, wealth and health in the US depend on advanced scientific knowledge (government, business, technical information) • The individuals, companies, universities and government agencies that advance scientific knowledge need incentives to invest their time and money. If there is no protection for their discoveries and knowledge, innovations will slow, and with them, economic conditions • Economic espionage threatens the economic security of the U.S. U.S. Intellectual Property as a Highly Valued Asset • The U.S. is the main source of technological breakthroughs (about 86% of the world’s intellectual property). • Many foreig
