IT Blog

Not many people are going to get a copy of the full text of this week’s “Phase 1” trade deal signed by the United States and China, sit down, open it up, and start reading its near-100 pages. But if you’re in the cybersecurity business, this is the hottest thing off the presses in a long time. It’s no secret that the Chinese government and corporations—including state-owned companies—are a major threat to American intellectual property. One in five American companies report that China has stolen their intellectual property, and these Chinese raids can cost our businesses as much as $600 billion every year. The Phase 1 negotiations provided the U.S. with a golden opportunity to take China to task on IP theft and redraw a trade relationship that protects American technology.

The document gets off to an encouraging start. Intellectual property is addressed right at the beginning, in Chapter 1. While this might seem common sense, setting out language that describes this…