Imagine coming into the office to find everyone upset. You notice that everyone is looking at the same website: one showcasing a product exactly like your company was planning to release next week. With a little digging, you realize that a recently departed employee had all of the key information on this product, and if motivated, they could have sold your company’s plan to another business. Without proof, this is just a matter of your company’s word versus the employee’s, and of course, that’s not exactly an ideal situation for your legal counsel.
Hindsight is 20/20, right?
If you could go back in time, you’d probably make sure you have solid proof of the conversations that have happened within your internal platforms. Unfortunately, in IP litigation, screenshots or downloaded .txt files won’t be enough. These formats can be altered and therefore, are not considered legally defensible. So, could you have prepared? A legally-defensible archiving service that follows ISO 28500 standards would make the difference
But wait, it’s not all bad.
The good news is that you aren’t in this situation (at least, we hope not). This means that you have time to prepare for the worst-case scenario. With the various team messaging platforms that different departments within your organization, it’s vital to incorporate an archiving service that can manage all types of content. For example, if your team as a whole uses Slack to communicate, but your development team manages projects through Confluence, your archiving software needs to be able to properly preserve both types of data.
Next, you’ll want to make sure that the platform you use works with the systems that your legal team already uses. This way, you’ll ensure a seamless transition and make the process easier for everyone. In order to use the data in IP litigation, it’s best to have the option to view the content in its native format, plus have the option to export as a PDF or a load file for document review platforms.
Is it really worth it to archive my team messaging platforms?
Now, let’s imagine the first scenario again, but this time, you’ve been consistently archiving your team messaging platforms. You’re frustrated when you find out that your company’s idea was stolen, but you have peace of mind knowing that you have legally defensible evidence that shows your IP ownership. In this situation, you’re not worried about the potential outcome of your court case; you’re confident and prepared to take the case head-on. Trust us, you’ll be happy you archived your team messaging platforms.
