The term proprietary data is used to describe data that belongs to a person or organization that is considered important enough to give that person or organization a competitive advantage. This data may be protected by copyright or patent laws. In the world of espionage and trade secrets, it is important for organizations to manage their data in this lawful way.
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To stay competitive, organizations take serious steps to protect their sensitive data. Organizations typically require anyone who works with them to sign a contract that includes a confidentiality agreement. This agreement obligates third parties not to share any proprietary data they obtain from analyzing and discussing the sensitive data in question.
With the expansion of software development in the global economy, proprietary data plays an important role in software licensing. The term proprietary software is used to describe the proprietary data contained in the software code of an application. This proprietary software is typically protected by copyright law, which limits reuse of the software without purchasing additional licenses.
Interactions with financial institutions also involve issues of personally owned data. As the global marketplace expanded, consumers made personal financial information available to organizations. This data is considered private and must be kept confidential between the consumer and the organization. It is the responsibility of the financial institution or other organization to control and ensure the security of this data.
Data security experts are the guardians and shepherds of organizations’ proprietary data. These security experts focus on protecting sensitive information in an attempt to reduce the unauthorized release of proprietary data that can affect an organization’s profits and performance. Data security teams routinely look for malicious software that can penetrate an organization to steal sensitive information.
Video piracy of motion picture products has consistently plagued the theater industry for many decades. This violation of copyright law is a prime example of why maintaining control over products is important. With the continued deployment of illegal copies of movies and software, organizations are losing large sums of revenue, which in turn drives up the cost of consumer products.
In an effort to reduce the exposure of proprietary data, many software companies continually develop new processes to make it difficult, if not impossible, to copy information. These protections are the first step in reducing music, movie, and software piracy. However, with each new set of security measures, hackers rapidly develop methods to circumvent the measures, forcing companies to develop even newer security measures.
