Originally Posted by
Sunfish
I would have thought The Official Secrets Act covers everything that was not in the public domain at the time you signed it.
One of my contemporaries in my B.Eng (Mech) at university 30 years ago worked in vehicle emissions for a well known first tier supplier of fuel injection systems. He saw the writing on the wall for the Australian car industry well before it finally imploded and 15 or 20 years ago took a position in Hong Kong teaching the Chinese how to make modern car and truck motors meet modern emissions requirements.
While I'm sure he had knowledge of the finer points of his previous employer's systems which was not in the public domain, what he really had to offer, both to his previous employer and to the Chinese, were the skills to develop the next decade's systems to meet the next decade's emissions standards.
Not secrets, but skills.
Interestingly, the marketfor his skills looks like it will peter out due to electric vehicles just about the same time he's ready to retire.