From years of experience at mining sites, the company discovered a valuable mineral vein overseas for the first time and brought samples back to Taiwan for research and analysis. Unfortunately, after consulting the Bureau of Mines, the Forestry Bureau, and the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), we were informed that no technical expertise or resources were available to assist. Although we had the samples, the inability to proceed with extraction was regrettable.
What was even more disappointing was that, after submitting important documents and research — and receiving ITRI’s official reply that the project could not be undertaken — a year later, a group of former ITRI staff who had left to start their own company attempted to compete with private enterprises. Most astonishingly, the scope of their business activities overlapped by as much as 70% with the content of the government-submitted documents we had originally provided.
Faced with such unfair business competition, the company was restructured into a limited company with a formal board of directors. Following board discussions, it was resolved that all valuable documents and discoveries would no longer be submitted to government agencies, in order to safeguard the company’s intellectual property rights and maintain its competitive advantage, thereby preventing potential conflicts of interest and the exploitation or theft of trade secrets by ill-intentioned parties.
