Do Your Suppliers Use Unauthorized IP?

Do you know whether the suppliers in your supply chains use unauthorized intellectual property (IP)? Are you in a position to answer this question definitively? Even if you own, or have the legal rights to use, all IP that you need to produce your own products or to deliver your services, you still could face serious legal and business consequences if any supplier in your supply chain uses "unauthorized IP" (patents, copyrights, utility models, software, trade secrets, etc. that have not been authorized by the lawful owner and for which royalties have not been paid in accordance with relevant laws) at any point in its processes.