The theft of intellectual property (IP) from North American businesses is often in the news.

As many of you are aware, the Chinese government has been planning and implementing changes to increase its global manufacturing presence and influence.

Manufactured products, particularly forged products, simply cannot reach their intended market without the labor of humans.

This column will discuss activity at the intersection of competition policy/competition law with intellectual-property (IP) law.

Many readers may have been introduced to the term "patent troll" and wonder exactly what a patent troll is and whether patent trolls really exist.

During the past decade or so, the topic of disparaging trademarks, logos and team mascots has become more frequently discussed.

You may be curious as to how the FTC defines Made in the USA and how that affects forges and forging suppliers.

While many of us might not think of trade secrets (such as the formula for Coca-Cola) as being commonplace, the National Science Foundation estimates that corporations actually employ trade secrets perhaps two times as often as patents.

The high numbers of packages and containers entering the U.S. make it a daunting task for government officials to stop the importation of imitation and counterfeit goods, which cost American companies up to $250 billion annually and are directly responsible for the loss of 750,000 U.S. jobs.