Is it ethical for an engineer to accept help from a competitor concerning a process developed by a previous employer?

The reasoning behind the correctness of the answer lies in the principles of intellectual property and proprietary information. Accepting help from a competitor regarding a process originally developed by a previous employer raises ethical concerns about the use of proprietary information.

Proprietary information typically refers to confidential knowledge, data, or processes that give a business a competitive edge, and engineers have a legal and ethical obligation to protect that information even after their employment ends. Engaging with a competitor over such proprietary knowledge could be seen as misappropriating the prior employer's intellectual property, which is considered unethical and potentially illegal.

By affirming that it is not ethical to accept help from a competitor in this scenario, the point emphasizes the engineer's responsibility to maintain the confidentiality and integrity of proprietary information, safeguarding the trust placed in them by their former employer and promoting ethical standards within the engineering profession.