Humans do this all the time. You watch a YouTube video and subconsciously choose the same colour palette. They hear a rumour that it's a solved problem, i.e. they were pointed in the right direction that is all.

I mean some companies glean insight into new products merely by asking other people what they do for a living.

People need to get over this ownership thing, it's being taken too far. Humans benefit from the efforts of others simple as that.