Foreign Commercial Espionage: U.S. Government Strategies to Mitigate Threats in a Changing Innovation Environment

For decades, foreign intellectual property (IP) theft has been a challenge facing American companies. With some estimates placing the costs at over $300 billion every year, the ongoing theft of intellectual property is “the greatest transfer of wealth in history,” as former NSA Director Keith Alexander describes it. IP theft hampers the development of innovative new products and services that benefit citizens around the world. While the United States is taking some efforts to combat this problem, the changing innovation environment is creating new challenges.

In their newly released book, Securing U.S. Innovation: The Challenge of Preserving a Competitive Advantage in the Creation of Knowledge, FBI Intelligence Analyst Darren Tromblay and Special Agent Robert Spelbrink examine the United States’ experience in the field of innovation security and the various approaches the country has taken in mitigating threats posed by foreign actors. Join ITIF as the authors share key conclusions from the book and discuss the implications for U.S. policymakers going forward.

Note: The authors will be speaking in their personal, academic capacity. Any opinions expressed are their own and do not reflect the view of the United States government.