Company X alleged that a report written by researchers in the field of technology was not impartial. The report was used as an expert opinion in a trial concerning trade secret infringement, in which X was a party. Additionally, X suspected that the report’s list of authors was expanded and that it included plagiarism.
A preliminary inquiry required in an RCR process was not initiated, which was justified by stating that the report was not a scientific publication. According to TENK, the allegation falls within the scope of the RCR guidelines as it is binding to researchers even when they give expert opinions as representatives of their field. Therefore, an RCR process was to be initiated in accordance with TENK’s guidelines.