Free and Open Competition Boundary Invoked to Permit Firm B Client Solicitation
P · Principle
Individual
http://proethica.org/ontology/case/168#Free_and_Open_Competition_Boundary_Invoked_to_Permit_Firm_B_Client_Solicitation
Properties
Instance of
FreeandOpenCompetitionasEngineeringEthicsBoundaryCondition
http://proethica.org/ontology/intermediate#FreeandOpenCompetitionasEngineeringEthicsBoundaryCondition
Applied to
Solicitation of Engineer A's former clients by Firm B after departure
Balancing with
Loyalty
Specialized Knowledge Constraint on Post-Departure Competition
Concrete expression
The Board affirmed that free and open competition permits Firm B engineers to solicit former clients of Engineer A where no active contract or negotiation existed, treating competitive solicitation of uncontracted former clients as within the ethical boundary of permissible competition
Confidence
0.93
Importance
high
Interpretation
Free and open competition is a foundational boundary condition that permits engineers to solicit former clients of prior employers absent active contractual or negotiation relationships; the ethics code does not grant incumbent engineers proprietary rights over uncontracted former clients
Invoked by
Four Departing Engineers Firm B Principals
Tension resolution
Free competition prevails for uncontracted former clients; the specialized knowledge constraint operates as a targeted exception rather than a general limitation on competitive solicitation
Source Evidence
Source text
We have often held that §11(a) is not to be interpreted to give an engineer or firm a right to prevent other engineers from attempting to serve former clients of other firms.
Text references
To that extent, and under those facts, the four engineers of Firm B had a right to seek assignments from the former clients of Engineer A.
We have often held that §11(a) is not to be interpreted to give an engineer or firm a right to prevent other engineers from attempting to serve former clients of other firms.
TTL
@prefix case168: <http://proethica.org/ontology/case/168#> .
@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#> .
case168:Free_and_Open_Competition_Boundary_Invoked_to_Permit_Firm_B_Client_Solicitation a proeth:FreeandOpenCompetitionasEngineeringEthicsBoundaryCondition,
owl:NamedIndividual ;
rdfs:label "Free and Open Competition Boundary Invoked to Permit Firm B Client Solicitation" ;
proeth:appliedto "Solicitation of Engineer A's former clients by Firm B after departure" ;
proeth:balancingwith "Loyalty",
"Specialized Knowledge Constraint on Post-Departure Competition" ;
proeth:conceptCategory "Principle" ;
proeth:concreteexpression "The Board affirmed that free and open competition permits Firm B engineers to solicit former clients of Engineer A where no active contract or negotiation existed, treating competitive solicitation of uncontracted former clients as within the ethical boundary of permissible competition" ;
proeth:confidence "0.93" ;
proeth:discoveredincase "168" ;
proeth:discoveredinpass "2" ;
proeth:discoveredinsection "discussion" ;
proeth:firstdiscoveredat "2026-03-02T02:46:59.536015+00:00" ;
proeth:firstdiscoveredincase "168" ;
proeth:generatedattime "2026-03-02T02:46:59.536015+00:00" ;
proeth:importance "high" ;
proeth:interpretation "Free and open competition is a foundational boundary condition that permits engineers to solicit former clients of prior employers absent active contractual or negotiation relationships; the ethics code does not grant incumbent engineers proprietary rights over uncontracted former clients" ;
proeth:invokedby "Four Departing Engineers Firm B Principals" ;
proeth:principleclass "Free and Open Competition as Engineering Ethics Boundary Condition" ;
proeth:sourcetext "We have often held that §11(a) is not to be interpreted to give an engineer or firm a right to prevent other engineers from attempting to serve former clients of other firms." ;
proeth:tensionresolution "Free competition prevails for uncontracted former clients; the specialized knowledge constraint operates as a targeted exception rather than a general limitation on competitive solicitation" ;
proeth:textreferences "To that extent, and under those facts, the four engineers of Firm B had a right to seek assignments from the former clients of Engineer A.",
"We have often held that §11(a) is not to be interpreted to give an engineer or firm a right to prevent other engineers from attempting to serve former clients of other firms." ;
proeth:wasattributedto "Case 168 Extraction" ;
prov:generatedAtTime "2026-03-02T02:59:28.930800"^^xsd:dateTime ;
prov:wasGeneratedBy "ProEthica Case 168 Extraction" .
Metadata
Extraction details
Discovered in case
168
Discovered in pass
2
Discovered in section
discussion
First discovered
2026-03-02T02:46:59.536015+00:00
First case
168
Generated
2026-03-02T02:46:59.536015+00:00
Attributed to
Case 168 Extraction
Generated
2026-03-02T02:59:28.930800
Generated by
ProEthica Case 168 Extraction