Key Learning Points
- Our foreign adversaries want our Intellectual Property
- Steps companies can take to protect their IP
- How the FBI and law enforcement can help protect your IP
Level: Intermediate
The FBI’s Purple Maze case presentation highlights the breadth of our trade secrets and intellectual property that our foreign adversaries are trying to steal. The investigation began after Dupont Pioneer reported to the FBI a suspicious incident in one of their proprietary corn fields. What ensued was nearly a three year investigation involving wiretaps on phones, bugs in cars, and executives from one of China’s largest agricultural companies attempting to smuggle corn seed out to China and Canada in microwave popcorn boxes and subway napkins hidden in their clothing. This entertaining and engaging account of the investigation is interspersed with the legal and statutory framework to prosecute trade secret theft cases and steps your company can take to protect your valuable intellectual property.
