Short answer: Yes. Triage Forensics supports employee intellectual property (IP) theft investigations by recovering and analysing data from company or personal phones, and prepares the findings as a court-ready forensic report suitable for an injunction application or other proceedings.
Our guide to digital forensics for workplace investigations covers IP theft in context. This page focuses on speed, because in IP matters the first 48 hours often decide what evidence survives.
The first 48 hours
- Secure the devices. Retrieve company phones and laptops promptly. Don’t let anyone, including IT, browse them.
- Preserve accounts. Suspend the employee’s access, but don’t delete their mailbox or cloud accounts.
- Record what you know. Dates of resignation or notice, unusual downloads, and who has handled the devices.
- Get legal advice early, especially if urgent court orders may be needed to stop the information being used.
- Brief a forensic expert. Early examination gives the best chance of recovering deleted material.
Warning signs on a phone
- File-sharing or cloud storage apps installed shortly before resignation.
- Photos or screenshots of screens, documents or whiteboards.
- Emails forwarded to personal accounts.
- Large file transfers, or messaging with competitors or new employers.
- Factory resets or deleted apps just before the device was returned.
What makes the report court-ready
Courts hearing urgent IP applications need evidence they can rely on quickly. A court-ready report:
- documents the chain of custody from the moment the phone was secured;
- uses a verified forensic copy, so the original is untouched;
- sets out a timeline of what was accessed, copied or sent, and when;
- explains clearly what couldn’t be recovered; and
- complies with the expert witness code of conduct.
Frequently asked questions
Can forensics help with employee IP theft investigations?
Yes. An examination can establish what was accessed, copied or transferred and when, whether deleted copies remain recoverable, and which devices and accounts were involved.
How do I get a court-ready forensic report from a phone?
Preserve the device first, then have it examined by forensically sound extraction on verified copies with a documented chain of custody, and obtain a plain-language report that meets the requirements for expert evidence.
Getting started
Contact Triage Forensics as soon as IP theft is suspected. Urgent matters can often be reported on within 1–3 business days.