Industrial espionage (also called corporate espionage or economic espionage) Industrial espionage "does not extend to the activity of private entities conducted without foreign government involvement, nor does it pertain to lawful efforts to obtain commercially useful information, such as information available on the Internet. Although some open-collection efforts may be a precursor to clandestine collection, they do not constitute industrial espionage. Some countries have a long history of ties between government and industry; however, it is often difficult to ascertain whether espionage has been committed under foreign government sponsorship, a necessary requirement under the Economic Espionage Act, Title 18 U.S.C., Section 1831."