Any repository of information carries some risk of data breach, and as we've seen elsewhere, e-discovery databases are in no way insulated from that threat. However, in intellectual property litigation, where records can carry information concerning the proprietary process or trade secrets of an organization, the risk of data breach is compounded by the potential release of privileged information to legal opponents. As intellectual property becomes an increasingly common target for hackers, care must be taken to protect it at every step of litigation, as both an exercise in cyberdefense and corporate strategy.

Michael J. Powell, the founder of Powell IP Law and the website navigatingIP.com, recently discussed the challenges at the crossroads of IP and discovery with Legaltech News. For the most part, Powell said leaks of privileged information are often protected by standard litigation processes; however, if concerns arise during the process, there are steps that can be taken to further proprietary information.

“To avoid potential harm, protective orders are commonly entered by courts,” Powell said. “The protective orders maintain confidentiality of IP by clearly identifying what is and isn't confidential, by restricting disclosure of the confidential or proprietary information only to the persons that need to know the information, and by limiting the time period and manner in which receiving persons may use the information before returning or destroying it.”