In The United States, federal law recognizes a legal practice for the study of an item in hopes of obtaining a detailed understanding of the
way in which it works for the purpose of creating duplicate or superior products without the benefit of having the plans for the original item. The studied item must first have been legally obtained, not stolen or otherwise misappropriated. The purpose of intellectual property protection is to provide incentives to invest and to advance the collective knowledge. It is felt that deformulation or reverse engineering helps to educate and promote healthy competition. It is considered to be a learning tool which provides a path to making new, competitive products that perform better and at lower cost than what is currently on the market. Deformulation is often considered along with benchmarking, patent mapping, and other competitor intelligence gathering processes as a means of conducting day-to-day business.
Other countries may have different conceptions about intellectual property rights and about legal allowances for deformulation or reverse engineering of items. For information concerning the legal status of deformulation practices in other countries throughout the world it is advisable to consult with an expert on intellectual property law.