RESEARCH DIG WITH GENIE TYBURSKI In Pursuit of Company Secrets You don't have to hire detectives to get the scoop on competitors. I pry with my mouse. Shrouded in mystery and misconception, the phrase competitive intelligence evokes images of dumpster diving, hacking, break-ins and theft. But those activities amount to unethical or illegal corporate espionage-an unscrupulous cousin that most competitive intelligence researchers find offensive. If I were a storyteller, I'd spin a yarn to rival The Firm. Corporate spying makes the stuff of good novels. But in the less exciting world of research, competitive intelligence conveys an analysis of information gathered from trustworthy sources in a lawful, ethical manner. missing heirs missing heirs Such intelligence alerts and empowers corporate decision makers. While much of the information-gathering process occurs by telephone and other offline activities, the Web provides access to a slew of information not easily or widely available a few years ago. It also gives rise to new research, tools that, when employed creatively, may yield data that gives a client a competitive advantage, or a lawyer the opportunity for courtroom one-upmanship. These resources include EDGAR filings, company Web pages, domain registrations, public records and government documents, classified ads, resumes, forums and message boards and consumer opinion sites. EDGAR Filings EDGAR filings, or documents filed by public companies with the Securities and Exchange vin number search missing heirs Commission, can prove particularly valuable when launching an investigation into a private company. Public companies frequently reveal private competitors. They also provide brief executive biographies, which may include information about an employee's former private company and the position held. Zeroing in on such nuggets of information may be as simple as conducting a free-text search of the private company's name. (That is, the search is not limited to a specific portion of the document.) You must, however, use a commercial EDGAR service like LexisNexis's EDGARplus or LivEDGAR (www.gsionline.com). Free EDGAR databases do not enable free-text keyword queries. Company Sites Company Web sites vary in the amount, and quality, of competitive us trademark search missing heirs information
