Engineering Ethics - Stealing of Trade Secrets
Credits: 1 PDH
PDH Course Description:
The United States Patent and Trademark Office defines a trade secret as information that has three characteristics:
- has either actual or potential independent economic value by virtue of not being generally known,
- has value to others who cannot legitimately obtain the information, and
- is subject to reasonable efforts to maintain its secrecy.
The purpose of this course is to widen the professional engineer’s understanding of engineering ethics through consideration of seven case studies of the theft of trade secrets by engineers. The studies describe actual cases that have been successfully
prosecuted by agencies of the U.S. federal government. The ethical—rather than legal— aspects of the cases are developed by identifying specific passages in published Standards of Conduct for professional engineers that were violated by the engineers
who were found guilty of theft.
Topics:
- Knowing the three characteristics of trade secrets
- Knowing the motivations for typical cases of trade secret theft
- Learning how to relate a type of crime to a specific standard of conduct
- Understanding common types of trade secret theft
- Recognizing state regulatory laws for professional engineers as a source of engineering ethics principles
To take this course:
1.) Enroll in Course: Click below to enroll:
(must be logged into your user account)
Download the Study Guide
3.) Test: Once you've thoroughly read the course materials, please click below to take the final examination.
Take the final exam
4.) Certificate: A passing grade of 70% or higher on the exam, is required to receive the certificate of completion for this PDH course.
NOTE: After the exam is completed, you will need to return to this page, in order to print (download) the certificate of completion.
Print the Certificate of Completion
Intended Audience: This course is intended for engineers of all disciplines, whose job description may require a general knowledge of ethical principles as they apply to trade secrets, both in the private sector, and public sectors of engineering.
Publication Source:
Print the Certificate of Completion
Intended Audience: This course is intended for engineers of all disciplines, whose job description may require a general knowledge of ethical principles as they apply to trade secrets, both in the private sector, and public sectors of engineering.
Publication Source:
This course is based on the document, “Engineering Ethics—Case Studies in Stealing Trade Secrets,” written by Mark Rossow, June 18, 2023.
Mark Rossow, PhD, PE (retired)