Aviation companies work for years to create reliable and recognizable products and technologies. Infringement and counterfeit of your intellectual property can seriously damage your business and reputation while potentially endangering the lives of customers.
Unfortunately, even the most careful property management and monitoring of the industry cannot protect you against all forms of theft. Several situations can leave your property vulnerable.
Research and development
Parties that purchase aviation equipment want to be sure they are buying a tested and proven product. Unfortunately, this also allows independent third parties access to private or unpatented intellectual property. The following people could take advantage of the situation and illegally share information with competitors before your product can hit the market:
- Researchers
- Technicians
- Supervisors
- Communication managers
Counterfeit and theft
Aircraft graveyards and crash sites are unfortunately common grounds for scavengers and thieves. These people strip airplanes for their valuable metals, technologies and resources. Some thieves turn around and sell these parts to desperate or needy buyers at bargain prices.
These salvaged pieces can be passed off or illegally repurposed. If it was determined that one of these faulty or damaged pieces was installed on one of your related aircrafts and it crashes, it could damage your reputation and business for years to come.
Technological infringement
Improvements to technology seem to move faster than commercial agreements can license or test them. Instead of implementing every newest or flashiest technology, aviation technologies need every part to be dependable for pilots and passengers alike, from code to semiconductors. They are often slow to trust new technologies and prefer tried and true models.
Digital technology is interwoven with mechanic components in modern airplanes and requires extensive testing. At any stage of development, trade secrets may be leaked, or sold and repurposed for newer versions of similar tech and sold to competitors. This competitive evolution of technology is particularly difficult to track, stop or protect.
Without proper management of your intellectual property, your assets may fall into the wrong hands. You will need specialized legal representation in order to maximize compensation and damages for the loss of your property.
