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Overview
Facts Discussion
Provenance Draft

PASS 1: Contextual Framework Facts Section

Case 106: Confidentiality of Competitor Information Submitted to Government Agency

R Roles
1
Classes
5
Individuals
S States
3
Classes
3
Individuals
Rs Resources
1
Classes
0
Individuals

Extracted Ontology Entities

13 RDF entities extracted organized by concept type

R Roles

Roles Classes
1
changed
ClientRole
rdfs:subClassOf Roles
New C106
Definition
Extracted from facts primary
A participant role borne by a company that submits confidential and proprietary design information to a government agency in order to obtain approval of its facility designs. The role carries standing in the case as the source of protected information without profession-generated duties articulated by the case.
Properties
Text References:
"companies seeking approval from the government agency for their facility designs"
"Company X is among the companies submitting confidential and proprietary design information."
Confidence: 0.85
Role Kind: participant
Distinguishing Features:
  • Seeks regulatory approval of its own facility designs rather than commissioning professional services
  • Provides confidential and proprietary design information to the approving agency
[facts] "Engineer A receives access to confidential and proprietary design information provided by companies seeking approval from the government agency for their facility designs. Company X is among the compa..."
Field classification (triples vs literals)
Literal extractions (kept for synthesis)
  • textReferences content: companies seeking approval from the government agency for their facility designs; Company X is among the companies submitting confidential and proprietary design information.
  • roleKind content: participant
  • distinguishingFeatures content: Seeks regulatory approval of its own facility designs rather than commissioning professional services; Provides confidential and proprietary design information to the approving agency
  • confidence assessment: 0.85
Roles Individuals
5
Linked
Employer Role
C106
Text References:
"Engineer A works for a government agency involved in the design and construction of facilities."
"Engineer A ends her employment with the government agency"
Confidence: 0.85
Actor: Government Agency
Role Class: Employer Role
Role Kind: participant
Case Involvement: The government agency employed Engineer A during the period in which she received access to confidential and proprietary design information, until Engineer A ended her employment.
[facts] "Engineer A works for a government agency involved in the design and construction of facilities."
Field classification (triples vs literals)
Relations (structural triples)
  • actor: Government Agency
Literal extractions (kept for synthesis)
  • textReferences content: Engineer A works for a government agency involved in the design and construction of facilities.; Engineer A ends her employment with the government agency
  • roleClass content: Employer Role
  • roleKind content: participant
  • caseInvolvement content: The government agency employed Engineer A during the period in which she received access to confidential and proprietary design information, until Engineer A ended her employment.
  • confidence assessment: 0.85
Linked
Engineer Role
C106
Text References:
"Engineer A works for a government agency involved in the design and construction of facilities."
"Engineer A receives access to confidential and proprietary design information provided by companies seeking approval from the government agency for their facility designs."
Confidence: 0.9
Actor: Engineer A
Role Class: Engineer Role
Role Category: employer_relationship
Role Kind: professional
Employer: Government agency
Additional Relationships: {'type': 'receivedConfidentialInformationFrom', 'target': 'Company X', 'quote': 'Engineer A receives access to confidential and proprietary design information provided by companies seeking approval from the government agency for their facility designs.'}
Case Involvement: While employed by the government agency, Engineer A received access to confidential and proprietary design information submitted by companies, including Company X, seeking approval of their facility designs.
Confidential information access: Received access to confidential and proprietary design information submitted by companies including Company X
Employedby: Government Agency
"Engineer A works for a government agency involved in the design and construction of facilities."
[facts] "Engineer A works for a government agency involved in the design and construction of facilities. During Engineer A's tenure with the government agency, Engineer A receives access to confidential and pr..."
Field classification (triples vs literals)
Relations (structural triples)
  • actor: Engineer A
  • attributes: {'confidential_information_access': 'Received access to confidential and proprietary design information submitted by companies including Company X'}
  • relationships: {'type': 'employedBy', 'target': 'Government Agency', 'quote': 'Engineer A works for a government agency involved in the design and construction of facilities.'}
Literal extractions (kept for synthesis)
  • textReferences content: Engineer A works for a government agency involved in the design and construction of facilities.; Engineer A receives access to confidential and proprietary design information provided by companies seeking approval from the government agency for their facility designs.
  • roleClass content: Engineer Role
  • roleCategory content: employer_relationship
  • roleKind content: professional
  • employer content: Government agency
  • additionalRelationships content: {'type': 'receivedConfidentialInformationFrom', 'target': 'Company X', 'quote': 'Engineer A receives access to confidential and proprietary design information provided by companies seeking approval from the government agency for their facility designs.'}
  • caseInvolvement content: While employed by the government agency, Engineer A received access to confidential and proprietary design information submitted by companies, including Company X, seeking approval of their facility designs.
  • confidence assessment: 0.9
Linked
Engineer Role
C106
Text References:
"Engineer A ends her employment with the government agency and accepts an engineering position with Company Y, a competitor of Company X."
Confidence: 0.9
Actor: Engineer A
Role Class: Engineer Role
Role Category: employer_relationship
Role Kind: professional
Employer: Company Y
Case Involvement: After ending her employment with the government agency, Engineer A accepts an engineering position with Company Y, a competitor of Company X whose confidential and proprietary design information Engineer A had accessed.
Prior employer: Government agency involved in the design and construction of facilities
Employedby: Company Y
"Engineer A ends her employment with the government agency and accepts an engineering position with Company Y, a competitor of Company X."
[facts] "Engineer A ends her employment with the government agency and accepts an engineering position with Company Y, a competitor of Company X."
Field classification (triples vs literals)
Relations (structural triples)
  • actor: Engineer A
  • attributes: {'prior_employer': 'Government agency involved in the design and construction of facilities'}
  • relationships: {'type': 'employedBy', 'target': 'Company Y', 'quote': 'Engineer A ends her employment with the government agency and accepts an engineering position with Company Y, a competitor of Company X.'}
Literal extractions (kept for synthesis)
  • textReferences content: Engineer A ends her employment with the government agency and accepts an engineering position with Company Y, a competitor of Company X.
  • roleClass content: Engineer Role
  • roleCategory content: employer_relationship
  • roleKind content: professional
  • employer content: Company Y
  • caseInvolvement content: After ending her employment with the government agency, Engineer A accepts an engineering position with Company Y, a competitor of Company X whose confidential and proprietary design information Engineer A had accessed.
  • confidence assessment: 0.9
Government Agency Regulatory Authority
Regulatory Authority Role
Linked
Regulatory Authority Role
C106
Text References:
"companies seeking approval from the government agency for their facility designs"
Confidence: 0.85
Actor: Government Agency
Role Class: Regulatory Authority Role
Role Kind: participant
Additional Relationships: {'type': 'receivesApprovalSubmissionsFrom', 'target': 'Company X', 'quote': 'companies seeking approval from the government agency for their facility designs'}
Case Involvement: The government agency receives confidential and proprietary design information from companies, including Company X, seeking its approval of their facility designs.
Function: Involved in the design and construction of facilities and receives confidential and proprietary design information from companies seeking approval
[facts] "Engineer A receives access to confidential and proprietary design information provided by companies seeking approval from the government agency for their facility designs."
Field classification (triples vs literals)
Relations (structural triples)
  • actor: Government Agency
  • attributes: {'function': 'Involved in the design and construction of facilities and receives confidential and proprietary design information from companies seeking approval'}
Literal extractions (kept for synthesis)
  • textReferences content: companies seeking approval from the government agency for their facility designs
  • roleClass content: Regulatory Authority Role
  • roleKind content: participant
  • additionalRelationships content: {'type': 'receivesApprovalSubmissionsFrom', 'target': 'Company X', 'quote': 'companies seeking approval from the government agency for their facility designs'}
  • caseInvolvement content: The government agency receives confidential and proprietary design information from companies, including Company X, seeking its approval of their facility designs.
  • confidence assessment: 0.85
New C106
Text References:
"Company X is among the companies submitting confidential and proprietary design information."
Confidence: 0.85
Actor: Company X
Role Class: Approval Applicant
Role Kind: participant
Additional Relationships: {'type': 'submittedConfidentialInformationTo', 'target': 'Government Agency', 'quote': 'Company X is among the companies submitting confidential and proprietary design information.'}
Case Involvement: Company X submitted confidential and proprietary design information to the government agency seeking approval of its facility designs, information to which Engineer A had access before joining competitor Company Y.
[facts] "Company X is among the companies submitting confidential and proprietary design information."
Field classification (triples vs literals)
Relations (structural triples)
  • actor: Company X
Literal extractions (kept for synthesis)
  • textReferences content: Company X is among the companies submitting confidential and proprietary design information.
  • roleClass content: Approval Applicant
  • roleKind content: participant
  • additionalRelationships content: {'type': 'submittedConfidentialInformationTo', 'target': 'Government Agency', 'quote': 'Company X is among the companies submitting confidential and proprietary design information.'}
  • caseInvolvement content: Company X submitted confidential and proprietary design information to the government agency seeking approval of its facility designs, information to which Engineer A had access before joining competitor Company Y.
  • confidence assessment: 0.85

S States

States Classes
3
changed
Linked
Confidential Information Possession State
C106
Definition
Extracted from facts primary
A disclosure condition in which a professional holds confidential and proprietary information acquired during the course of or by reason of duties with an employer, so that after the employment ends the professional remains bound with respect to the use or disclosure of that information. Here Engineer A received access to confidential and proprietary design information submitted by companies, including Company X, during her tenure with the government agency.
Inherited from ConfidentialInformationPossessionState · note
A disclosure condition in which a professional holds confidential information acquired during the course of or by reason of duties or employment with a former employer, so that after employment ends the professional remains bound not to use or disclose that information for personal gain. In this case, Engineer D possesses confidential information acquired during tenure as City Engineer, and the confidentiality obligation continues after severing employment with the City.
Properties
Text References:
"Engineer A receives access to confidential and proprietary design information provided by companies seeking approval from the government agency for their facility designs."
"Company X is among the companies submitting confidential and proprietary design information."
Confidence: 0.95
State Category: disclosure
Persistence Type: inertial
Activation Conditions: Engineer A receives access to confidential and proprietary design information during her tenure with the government agency
Termination Conditions: The information ceases to be confidential or the submitting companies consent to its use or disclosure
Obligation Activation: Confidentiality Obligation
Action Constraints: Confidentiality Constraint
Principle Transformation: The faithfulness and confidentiality expected of a professional becomes a concrete condition on Engineer A, whose possession of Company X's proprietary design information carries into her subsequent employment.
[facts] "During Engineer A's tenure with the government agency, Engineer A receives access to confidential and proprietary design information provided by companies seeking approval from the government agency f..."
Field classification (triples vs literals)
Literal extractions (kept for synthesis)
  • textReferences content: Engineer A receives access to confidential and proprietary design information provided by companies seeking approval from the government agency for their facility designs.; Company X is among the companies submitting confidential and proprietary design information.
  • stateCategory content: disclosure
  • persistenceType content: inertial
  • principleTransformation content: The faithfulness and confidentiality expected of a professional becomes a concrete condition on Engineer A, whose possession of Company X's proprietary design information carries into her subsequent employment.
  • confidence assessment: 0.95
Derived (reconstructable from the graph)
  • activationConditions: Engineer A receives access to confidential and proprietary design information during her tenure with the government agency
  • terminationConditions: The information ceases to be confidential or the submitting companies consent to its use or disclosure
  • obligationActivation: Confidentiality Obligation
  • actionConstraints: Confidentiality Constraint
changed
Employment Transition State
rdfs:subClassOf States
Review
Employment Transition State
C106
Definition
Extracted from facts primary
A temporal condition in which a professional has ended employment with one employer and accepted a position with a new employer, so the professional is in a transition phase during which knowledge and duties arising from the prior role remain ethically material in the new one. Here Engineer A ends her employment with the government agency and accepts an engineering position with Company Y.
Inherited from EmploymentTransitionState · note
A temporal condition in which a professional has announced departure from one position and accepted a new position, so the professional is in a transition phase between announcing the move and fully leaving the prior role, during which duties owed in the prior role still hold while ties to the new employer already exist.
Properties
Text References:
"Engineer A ends her employment with the government agency and accepts an engineering position with Company Y, a competitor of Company X."
Confidence: 0.92
State Category: temporal
Persistence Type: inertial
Activation Conditions: Engineer A ends her employment with the government agency and accepts a position with Company Y
Termination Conditions: The transition concludes once obligations carried from the prior employment are resolved or no longer material
Obligation Activation: Confidentiality Obligation
Principle Transformation: Duties acquired in public employment carry forward, so the transition phase makes the handling of information from the prior role a live professional question in the new position.
[facts] "Engineer A ends her employment with the government agency and accepts an engineering position with Company Y, a competitor of Company X."
Field classification (triples vs literals)
Literal extractions (kept for synthesis)
  • textReferences content: Engineer A ends her employment with the government agency and accepts an engineering position with Company Y, a competitor of Company X.
  • stateCategory content: temporal
  • persistenceType content: inertial
  • principleTransformation content: Duties acquired in public employment carry forward, so the transition phase makes the handling of information from the prior role a live professional question in the new position.
  • confidence assessment: 0.92
Derived (reconstructable from the graph)
  • activationConditions: Engineer A ends her employment with the government agency and accepts a position with Company Y
  • terminationConditions: The transition concludes once obligations carried from the prior employment are resolved or no longer material
  • obligationActivation: Confidentiality Obligation
changed
Conflict Of Interest State
rdfs:subClassOf States
Linked
Conflict Of Interest State
C106
Definition
Extracted from facts primary
A condition in which a professional holds competing interests or loyalties that bias or constrain the exercise of professional judgment. Here Engineer A, who possesses Company X's confidential and proprietary design information acquired in her government role, takes an engineering position with Company Y, a competitor of Company X, placing her duty regarding that information in tension with her new employer's competitive interests.
Inherited from ConflictOfInterestState · note
A condition in which an agent holds competing interests or loyalties, or competing role-derived duties, that cannot all be fully served and that bias or constrain the exercise of professional judgment. As a content kind it is the standing tension among interests, covering both conflict of interest and competing duties. Its deontic relevance is that it renders the affected obligations defeasible against one another and grounds the competesWith, prevailsOver, and defeasibleUnder edge family.
Properties
Text References:
"Engineer A ends her employment with the government agency and accepts an engineering position with Company Y, a competitor of Company X."
Confidence: 0.85
State Category: conflict_of_interest
Persistence Type: inertial
Activation Conditions: Engineer A accepts an engineering position with Company Y, a competitor of Company X, while holding Company X's confidential design information
Termination Conditions: Engineer A no longer holds the position with Company Y or the information ceases to be confidential
Obligation Activation: Confidentiality Obligation
Action Constraints: Confidentiality Constraint
Principle Transformation: The duty not to use confidential information acquired in prior service becomes a concrete tension once the new employer is a competitor of a party whose information Engineer A holds.
[facts] "Engineer A ends her employment with the government agency and accepts an engineering position with Company Y, a competitor of Company X."
Field classification (triples vs literals)
Literal extractions (kept for synthesis)
  • textReferences content: Engineer A ends her employment with the government agency and accepts an engineering position with Company Y, a competitor of Company X.
  • stateCategory content: conflict_of_interest
  • persistenceType content: inertial
  • principleTransformation content: The duty not to use confidential information acquired in prior service becomes a concrete tension once the new employer is a competitor of a party whose information Engineer A holds.
  • confidence assessment: 0.85
Derived (reconstructable from the graph)
  • activationConditions: Engineer A accepts an engineering position with Company Y, a competitor of Company X, while holding Company X's confidential design information
  • terminationConditions: Engineer A no longer holds the position with Company Y or the information ceases to be confidential
  • obligationActivation: Confidentiality Obligation
  • actionConstraints: Confidentiality Constraint
States Individuals
3
changed
Engineer A Confidential Design Information Possession
Confidential Information Possession State
Linked
Confidential Information Possession State
C106
Text References:
"Engineer A receives access to confidential and proprietary design information provided by companies seeking approval from the government agency for their facility designs."
"Company X is among the companies submitting confidential and proprietary design information."
Confidence: 0.95
State Class: Confidential Information Possession State
Subject: Engineer A, who holds confidential and proprietary design information submitted by companies including Company X
Active Period: From Engineer A's receipt of access during her tenure with the government agency, continuing after her employment ends
Triggering Event: Engineer A receives access to confidential and proprietary design information provided by companies seeking approval from the government agency
Terminated By: Not stated in the case, the condition persists as the facts close
Affected Parties:
  • Company X
  • Government agency
  • Company Y
  • Companies submitting design information
Urgency Level: high
[facts] "During Engineer A's tenure with the government agency, Engineer A receives access to confidential and proprietary design information provided by companies seeking approval from the government agency f..."
Field classification (triples vs literals)
Literal extractions (kept for synthesis)
  • textReferences content: Engineer A receives access to confidential and proprietary design information provided by companies seeking approval from the government agency for their facility designs.; Company X is among the companies submitting confidential and proprietary design information.
  • stateClass content: Confidential Information Possession State
  • subject content: Engineer A, who holds confidential and proprietary design information submitted by companies including Company X
  • activePeriod content: From Engineer A's receipt of access during her tenure with the government agency, continuing after her employment ends
  • triggeringEvent content: Engineer A receives access to confidential and proprietary design information provided by companies seeking approval from the government agency
  • terminatedBy content: Not stated in the case, the condition persists as the facts close
  • affectedParties content: Company X; Government agency; Company Y; Companies submitting design information
  • confidence assessment: 0.95
  • urgencyLevel assessment: high
changed
Engineer A Agency To Company Y Transition
Employment Transition State
Review
Employment Transition State
C106
Text References:
"Engineer A ends her employment with the government agency and accepts an engineering position with Company Y, a competitor of Company X."
Confidence: 0.92
State Class: Employment Transition State
Subject: Engineer A, moving from the government agency to Company Y
Active Period: From the end of Engineer A's employment with the government agency through her acceptance of the position with Company Y
Triggering Event: Engineer A ends her employment with the government agency and accepts an engineering position with Company Y
Terminated By: Not stated in the case
Affected Parties:
  • Engineer A
  • Government agency
  • Company Y
Urgency Level: medium
[facts] "Engineer A ends her employment with the government agency and accepts an engineering position with Company Y, a competitor of Company X."
Field classification (triples vs literals)
Literal extractions (kept for synthesis)
  • textReferences content: Engineer A ends her employment with the government agency and accepts an engineering position with Company Y, a competitor of Company X.
  • stateClass content: Employment Transition State
  • subject content: Engineer A, moving from the government agency to Company Y
  • activePeriod content: From the end of Engineer A's employment with the government agency through her acceptance of the position with Company Y
  • triggeringEvent content: Engineer A ends her employment with the government agency and accepts an engineering position with Company Y
  • terminatedBy content: Not stated in the case
  • affectedParties content: Engineer A; Government agency; Company Y
  • confidence assessment: 0.92
  • urgencyLevel assessment: medium
changed
Linked
Conflict Of Interest State
C106
Text References:
"Engineer A ends her employment with the government agency and accepts an engineering position with Company Y, a competitor of Company X."
"Company X is among the companies submitting confidential and proprietary design information."
Confidence: 0.85
State Class: Conflict Of Interest State
Subject: Engineer A, employed by Company Y while holding Company X's confidential and proprietary design information
Active Period: From Engineer A's acceptance of the position with Company Y, continuing while she holds the confidential information
Triggering Event: Engineer A accepts an engineering position with Company Y, a competitor of Company X
Terminated By: Not stated in the case
Affected Parties:
  • Company X
  • Company Y
  • Engineer A
Urgency Level: high
[facts] "Engineer A ends her employment with the government agency and accepts an engineering position with Company Y, a competitor of Company X."
Field classification (triples vs literals)
Literal extractions (kept for synthesis)
  • textReferences content: Engineer A ends her employment with the government agency and accepts an engineering position with Company Y, a competitor of Company X.; Company X is among the companies submitting confidential and proprietary design information.
  • stateClass content: Conflict Of Interest State
  • subject content: Engineer A, employed by Company Y while holding Company X's confidential and proprietary design information
  • activePeriod content: From Engineer A's acceptance of the position with Company Y, continuing while she holds the confidential information
  • triggeringEvent content: Engineer A accepts an engineering position with Company Y, a competitor of Company X
  • terminatedBy content: Not stated in the case
  • affectedParties content: Company X; Company Y; Engineer A
  • confidence assessment: 0.85
  • urgencyLevel assessment: high

Rs Resources

Resources Classes
1
changed
Reference Material
rdfs:subClassOf Resources
Review
Reference Material
C106
Definition
Extracted from facts primary
Documentation supporting professional practice with technical and procedural knowledge, including proprietary design documents and data artifacts submitted to and consulted by professionals in the course of their work.
Inherited from ReferenceMaterial · note
Handbooks, manuals, guides, and other documentation supporting professional practice with technical and procedural knowledge.
Properties
Text References:
"Engineer A receives access to confidential and proprietary design information provided by companies seeking approval from the government agency for their facility designs."
Confidence: 0.8
Resource Category: reference_material
[facts] "Engineer A receives access to confidential and proprietary design information provided by companies seeking approval from the government agency for their facility designs."
Field classification (triples vs literals)
Literal extractions (kept for synthesis)
  • textReferences content: Engineer A receives access to confidential and proprietary design information provided by companies seeking approval from the government agency for their facility designs.
  • resourceCategory content: reference_material
  • confidence assessment: 0.8
Resources Individuals
0
No new resources individuals were identified in this section.
Pass 1: Contextual Framework - Facts
Review extracted entities, then continue to the next step
Continue to Discussion Review
Case texts: National Society of Professional Engineers, Board of Ethical Review.

NOTE: The NSPE Board of Ethical Review considers ethical cases involving either real or hypothetical matters submitted to it from NSPE members, other engineers, public officials, and members of the public. The BER reviews each case in the context of the NSPE Code of Ethics and earlier BER opinions. The facts contained in each case do not necessarily represent all of the pertinent facts submitted to or reviewed by the BER and shall not be considered a direct evaluation of any real matter that may have been submitted.

Each opinion is intended as guidance to individual practicing engineers, students, and the public. In regard to the question of application of the NSPE Code of Ethics to engineering organizations (e.g., corporations, partnerships, sole proprietorships, government agencies, and university engineering departments), the specific business form or type should not negate nor detract from the conformance of individuals to the Code. The NSPE Code deals with professional services, which must be performed by real persons. Real persons in turn establish and implement policies within business structures.

This opinion is for educational purposes only and is not legal advice. It may be reprinted without further permission, provided that this statement is included before or after the text of the case and appropriate attribution is provided to the National Society of Professional Engineers' Board of Ethical Review.

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