CAD Files as Intellectual Property: How to Keep It From Going Astray?

Today, people have to exchange huge amounts of information to make a product. From cooperating with designers requesting and approving changes to sending the final version to manufacturers, you have to take care of quality control and make sure they use proper materials.

But it may never come to this stage if you fail to contain your intellectual property (IP).

IP is the most critical resource of any business and, for designers, it all comes down to computer-aided design (CAD) files. Losing other important data like customer lists, financial information, and research data may be disastrous too. But losing CAD files means depriving your company of competitive advantage and essentially losing sales, market share, and margins.

IP lost = fortunes lost

CAD systems have changed the world of construction, as they help facilitate the entire process by providing an efficient platform for applying changes quickly and easily. However, CAD files make duplication and manipulation of designs relatively easy for anyone with access to them creating significant copyright issues for professionals.

Theft of trade secrets is being discussed now more than ever. A report from the US government says that theft of IP currently cost American companies between $225 billion and $600 billion annually, in 2020.

This happens largely due to the growing digitization of manufacturing industries. Malicious activities on the internet are an important factor here, but not the primary one. More often, companies lose trade secrets due to a lack of awareness about basic security protocols.

While employees are the company’s greatest asset, they may also be its greatest liability. According to research, former employees constitute 45% of data breaches. And as companies usually share CADs with manufacturers, one not only has to be concerned about the safety of their IP in the hands of their own employees but also make sure that the other party’s workers keep them safe.

So what steps can design professionals take to mitigate their risks from sharing CAD files and protect their intellectual property?

6 tips to protect IP

Some designers and manufacturers think that the best way to protect CAD files is to avoid sending them, which is virtually impossible. Yes, sending PDF copies can minimize risks but it seriously hampers the production process, as, in this case, a manufacturer needs to request changes from a designer that may be on the other side of the planet.

There are a few steps that can help protect intellectual property while still allowing trusted parties to change the design when needed.

1. Share with care. Most people send CAD files via emails, and to secure them a firm needs to apply some rules to doing so. Set strict policy on who controls sending emails and to what addresses. Determine what permissions your employees have: only viewing, editing, but not copying or printing, etc. It will help keep data under control.
2. Patent your IP properly. Registering your IP may be costly and require a lot of effort, but the time and resources spent will certainly pay off.
3. Use the “share screen” option. As an alternative to sending a file via email, communication channels allow users to show the screen. Use it to discuss changes in a CAD file with a manufacturer and apply them on your device.
4. Control access to CADs. When it comes to sensitive information, it is important to see who has access to it, with what permission, at what time, or if someone makes attempts to get into places they are not supposed to be at. Properly managed information makes preventing leaks way easier. Make sure your employees only access CADs from the computers at the office and stay alert if they request to take some pieces of data home for “another check-up.”
5. Always remember to block access to fired employees. The same goes for contractors you have stopped collaborating with. It should be easy to “untie” the connections between ex-partners.
6. Protect your files with BORIS. Our solution offers an array of services and data-protection measures that will help keep your IP with you, even if you have lost the CAD file.
7. Usually, basic training of employees and some data-protection hacks are enough to secure your files once and for all. But always remember to upgrade your software and keep an eye on changes happening on both sides of IP protection.