Current-Employment Specialized Knowledge Disclosure Obligation Violated by U.S. Agency Engineers
P · Principle
Individual
http://proethica.org/ontology/case/102#Current-Employment_Specialized_Knowledge_Disclosure_Obligation_Violated_by_U.S._Agency_Engineers
Properties
Instance of
Current-EmploymentSpecializedKnowledgeDisclosureObligationBeforeCompetitiveUse
http://proethica.org/ontology/intermediate#Current-EmploymentSpecializedKnowledgeDisclosureObligationBeforeCompetitiveUse
Applied to
Use of basic plan preparation knowledge to negotiate private design and supervision contracts
Balancing with
Competitive Employment Freedom With Confidentiality Constraint
Concrete expression
The U.S. Agency engineers used their particular and specialized knowledge of the hydroelectric project — gained by preparing the basic plans in their public capacity — to negotiate competitive private contracts without making any disclosure to their employer, the U.S. Agency, before doing so.
Confidence
0.9
Importance
high
Interpretation
The engineers' intimate technical knowledge of the project, acquired through their public employment, constituted 'particular and specialized knowledge' within the meaning of this principle, triggering the disclosure obligation at its highest level given the active employment relationship.
Invoked by
U.S. Agency Engineers Group
Tension resolution
The principle establishes that the disclosure obligation is strongest during active employment; no disclosure was made, constituting an independent violation separate from the substantive competitive conduct.
Source Evidence
Source text
The basic plans for the project were prepared by an agency of the Federal Government of the United States
Text references
Several engineers in the employ of the U.S. Agency responsible for the basic plans negotiated with at least two engineering firms with the intent of taking part in the design and supervision of the work.
The basic plans for the project were prepared by an agency of the Federal Government of the United States, and the project report was made by an agency of the foreign government, with the assistance of a team from the U.S. Agency.
TTL
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@prefix owl: <http://www.w3.org/2002/07/owl#> .
@prefix proeth: <http://proethica.org/ontology/intermediate#> .
@prefix prov: <http://www.w3.org/ns/prov#> .
@prefix rdfs: <http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#> .
@prefix xsd: <http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#> .
case102:Current-Employment_Specialized_Knowledge_Disclosure_Obligation_Violated_by_U.S._Agency_Engineers a proeth:Current-EmploymentSpecializedKnowledgeDisclosureObligationBeforeCompetitiveUse,
owl:NamedIndividual ;
rdfs:label "Current-Employment Specialized Knowledge Disclosure Obligation Violated by U.S. Agency Engineers" ;
proeth:appliedto "Use of basic plan preparation knowledge to negotiate private design and supervision contracts" ;
proeth:balancingwith "Competitive Employment Freedom With Confidentiality Constraint" ;
proeth:conceptCategory "Principle" ;
proeth:concreteexpression "The U.S. Agency engineers used their particular and specialized knowledge of the hydroelectric project — gained by preparing the basic plans in their public capacity — to negotiate competitive private contracts without making any disclosure to their employer, the U.S. Agency, before doing so." ;
proeth:confidence "0.9" ;
proeth:discoveredincase "102" ;
proeth:discoveredinpass "2" ;
proeth:discoveredinsection "facts" ;
proeth:firstdiscoveredat "2026-03-02T16:08:17.013024+00:00" ;
proeth:firstdiscoveredincase "102" ;
proeth:generatedattime "2026-03-02T16:08:17.013024+00:00" ;
proeth:importance "high" ;
proeth:interpretation "The engineers' intimate technical knowledge of the project, acquired through their public employment, constituted 'particular and specialized knowledge' within the meaning of this principle, triggering the disclosure obligation at its highest level given the active employment relationship." ;
proeth:invokedby "U.S. Agency Engineers Group" ;
proeth:principleclass "Current-Employment Specialized Knowledge Disclosure Obligation Before Competitive Use" ;
proeth:sourcetext "The basic plans for the project were prepared by an agency of the Federal Government of the United States" ;
proeth:tensionresolution "The principle establishes that the disclosure obligation is strongest during active employment; no disclosure was made, constituting an independent violation separate from the substantive competitive conduct." ;
proeth:textreferences "Several engineers in the employ of the U.S. Agency responsible for the basic plans negotiated with at least two engineering firms with the intent of taking part in the design and supervision of the work.",
"The basic plans for the project were prepared by an agency of the Federal Government of the United States, and the project report was made by an agency of the foreign government, with the assistance of a team from the U.S. Agency." ;
proeth:wasattributedto "Case 102 Extraction" ;
prov:generatedAtTime "2026-03-02T16:27:05.298211"^^xsd:dateTime ;
prov:wasGeneratedBy "ProEthica Case 102 Extraction" .
Metadata
Extraction details
Discovered in case
102
Discovered in pass
2
Discovered in section
facts
First discovered
2026-03-02T16:08:17.013024+00:00
First case
102
Generated
2026-03-02T16:08:17.013024+00:00
Attributed to
Case 102 Extraction
Generated
2026-03-02T16:27:05.298211
Generated by
ProEthica Case 102 Extraction