Legal Definitions - industrial espionage

Definition: Industrial espionage is the act of using spies to gather information about another company's plans or activities. It involves stealing trade secrets or other confidential information from a competitor.

Example 1: A company hires a spy to infiltrate a competitor's office and steal their product designs. The spy takes pictures of the designs and sends them back to the company.

Example 2: A company sends an employee to attend a trade show hosted by a competitor. The employee pretends to be interested in their products and gathers information about their pricing, marketing strategies, and new product launches.

These examples illustrate how companies engage in industrial espionage to gain a competitive advantage over their rivals. By stealing confidential information, they can save time and money on research and development, and potentially launch products faster than their competitors.