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It seems to me that the kudos of IPR (Intellectual Property Rights) has over the last year or so been in a new ascendancy. For many sectors, including IT and networking, owning exclusive rights to something that everyone will pay good money for is a good place to be. Research carried out by the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM) using its EU Observatory on Infringements of Intellectual Property Rights adds some credibility.

OHIM study findings report that companies owning intellectual property rights generally achieve 29 per cent higher revenue per employee, and have six times as many employees with wages that can be 20 per cent higher than firms without IPRs. The study was based on official public financial data from more than 2.3 million European firms covering companies owning patents, trademarks and designs, both at national and EU levels.

President of OHIM, António Campinos commented that, "SMEs are the backbone of the EU economy, and IP rights are an economic asset. This study, however, shows that we need to do more to promote the economic advantages of IP among SMEs." Perhaps this should be given some consideration when selecting a supplier?

The adoption of cloud based services has always had a slightly quirky profile and while I am no expert, has confounded the traditional market hype expectations. We recently had the first IP EXPO in Manchester and the organisers say that 93 per cent of organisations are utilising the cloud in some form. This is probably a misleading figure without some qualification, but nevertheless, it shows clearly that as IT departments work to reduce costs and offer flexible working options, cloud has an important role to play. But, as with everything, there must be the salutary reminder that somewhere along the way security must be accommodated.

With the need to be always considering security, it is essential for all IT professionals to be mindful and vigilant about everything they do. While I am sure that most network managers don't purchase network hardware from a bloke sporting a trilby down the pub, there must still be something of a market for cheap networking stuff.

The Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU) recently dismantled a criminal operation suspected of importing, exporting and selling counterfeit Cisco products. Apparently, between December 2012 and April 2015, 40 shipments of suspected counterfeit Cisco products were sent from the UK to the US and intercepted by US Customs and Border Protection.

Two men arrested by the City of London Police unit at their homes in Sawbridgeworth and Birchanger and a third at his place of work in Bishops Stortford are suspected of running a counterfeit business that has sold over $10 million worth of counterfeit CISCO equipment.

PIPCU is a specialist national police unit dedicated to protecting UK industries that produce legitimate, high quality, physical goods and online digital content from intellectual property crime. They have been working collaboratively with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and CISCO's Global Brand Protection Team as part of this ongoing investigation.

Detective Inspector Mick Dodge of PIPCU said, "CISCO products are used by organisations worldwide to underpin their IT infrastructures. Businesses need to have confidence in their supply chains and be aware of the risks that counterfeit products can have on their networks."

Going back to where I started, perhaps it is not enough to own IPR, we as professionals purchasing the goods and services that our employers businesses substantially depend on must to some degree be accountable for the purchases we make. Now there's an aspect of IT and network management I would never have anticipated would need to be considered before. NC