Intellectual Property Rights Protection
Develop procedures to safeguard intellectual property rights to avoid legal issues.
🏛️ Framework
ISO/IEC 27001:2022
🧭 Control effect
Preventative
🧱 ISO 27001 domain
Organisational controls
🔐 Classifications
N/A
🗓️ Official last update
24 Oct 2022
✏️ Control Stack last updated
19 Mar 2026
🎯 Maturity levels
N/A
The organization shall implement appropriate procedures to protect intellectual property rights.
Source: ISO/IEC 27001:2022
Plain language
This control is about protecting your organisation's intellectual property, such as software, designs, or written material, to avoid legal trouble. If intellectual property rights aren't safeguarded, you may face lawsuits or financial losses from using or duplicating materials without permission.
Why it matters
Inadequate IP protection can lead to costly legal battles, loss of exclusive designs or software, and diminished market advantage.
Operational notes
Maintain IP procedures for licence use, IP rights/author ship, and NDA terms; train staff and review contracts and repositories to enforce them consistently.
Implementation tips
- The IT manager should create a clear policy on intellectual property protection. This policy must be communicated to all staff, outlining what intellectual property is and how it should be handled to comply with legal requirements. Refer to ISO 27002:2022 guidance on defining these policies.
- Procurement personnel must ensure that all purchased software comes from reputable, authorised sources. This includes verifying the legitimacy of licences to avoid using pirated software, which can lead to legal penalties.
- The legal team should maintain records of all software licences and intellectual material ownership. This involves keeping an up-to-date inventory of all such assets to demonstrate compliance and ownership if questioned.
- HR and management should conduct regular training sessions with staff on appropriate software use and intellectual property laws. These sessions should highlight the importance of compliance and the risks of infringement.
- IT staff need to conduct periodic audits of software and installed applications to verify compliance. This includes ensuring that only authorised software is used and all licensing terms and conditions are met, especially with regards to user access limits.
Audit / evidence tips
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Ask: the intellectual property protection policy document
Good: a comprehensive policy that is well-communicated to all staff
-
Ask: a list of all purchased software and their source documentation
Good: all software being purchased from reputable and approved vendors, with valid licences
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Ask: records demonstrating proof and evidence of intellectual property ownership
Good: up-to-date and complete documentation for all registered intellectual property assets
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Ask: training materials and attendance records regarding intellectual property rights
Good: regular, comprehensive sessions attended by relevant staff members
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Ask: results from periodic software audits
Good: documented audit findings with actions taken on any non-compliances
Cross-framework mappings
How Annex A 5.32 relates to controls across ISO/IEC 27001, Essential Eight, and ASD ISM.
These mappings show relationships between controls across frameworks. They do not imply full equivalence or certification.
ASD ISM
| Control | Notes | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Supports (3) | ||
| ISM-0072 | Annex A 5.32 requires the organisation to implement procedures to protect intellectual property rights, commonly including contractual co... | |
| ISM-1625 | Annex A 5.32 requires procedures to protect intellectual property rights from misuse, infringement or theft | |
| ISM-1730 | Annex A 5.32 requires procedures to protect intellectual property rights, encompassing legal and contractual aspects related to software | |