Final answer:
Competitive intelligence is the legal gathering of information from public sources to understand the market, which is different from industrial espionage that illegally collects trade secrets.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement that competitive intelligence involves the gathering and analysis of the trade secrets of your competitors is false. Competitive intelligence refers to the legal and ethical practice of gathering, analyzing, and managing information about the external business environment, such as market trends, competitive strategies, and technological developments, to aid in decision making. It does not include the unethical and illegal practice of industrial espionage, which entails acquiring trade secrets without permission. Trade secrets, such as the formula for Coca-Cola, are protected by law, and firms are not allowed to steal these secrets from their competitors. Industrial espionage is a term used to refer to instances where companies illegally obtain information that their competitors consider proprietary.