Pinion Software, the leading provider of Technical Rights Management (TRM) solutions, has announced it has sponsored a study by the Aberdeen Group entitled, 'The Protecting Product Intellectual (IP) Property Benchmark Report: Safeguarding Design IP in a Global Market'. The in-depth study investigated common practices used in global design and manufacturing, including unsecured emails and engineering documentation, and revealed that manufacturers face accelerating IP risk in the marketplace. The research found that over two-thirds of manufacturers find the threat to their product intellectual property (IP) has grown over the past two years.

The report also discusses how IP loss diminishes profitability, and finds leading companies are proactively implementing data protection strategies.

Jim Brown, Aberdeen Vice President, Product Innovation and Engineering, and report author, summarized key findings, 'Among companies benchmarked, 48% report lost market share, 44% lost sales, 30% product commoditization, and 27% lower margins because of compromised product IP.

In response, over two thirds are actively pursuing improved product IP protection, with almost one third viewing this as a top-five business priority'.

'Manufacturing companies are increasingly recognising data protection of CAD files, engineering data, and related information is a key component to surviving and thriving in this highly competitive world marketplace'.

'Research and product development is very costly, and that investment can be whisked away by data piracy'.

'Continuous protection of valuable product IP and ideas allows companies to conduct their normal course of business with confidence,' states Darryl Worsham, president of Pinion Software.

The Aberdeen report noted that leading manufacturers are developing multi-faceted IP protection systems including IP friendly collaboration, documenting IP discovery, legal protection, and enhanced data security.

This initiatives are supported by a variety of technologies including general IT security, document rights management (DRM), intellectual management and much more.

Pinion Software peer-to-peer solutions help companies of any size to establish security standards without a major investment in IT infrastructure.

Their award-winning Pinion Desktop Receiver safeguards high-value CAD files and other technical information inside and outside the corporate firewall - whether it is shared from the desktop by email, CD/DVD, or centralised data management system.

This product was recently honoured by SC Magazine's prestigious Best Buy award and their 5-Star distinction.

Pinion's 'in-use' protection covers the entire spectrum of product development, from design collaboration to outsourced contract manufacturing, as engineering data is shared with partners, vendors, or contractors.