This paper examines a dynamic R&D race in which competitors can conduct cyberespionage against each other. We develop a framework that analyses the influence of cyberespionage on innovative incentives, companies’ payoffs and the quality of the end product. We demonstrate that industrial espionage has an ambiguous influence on the overall investments exerted in the race and companies’ expected payoffs and might even be beneficial for the quality of innovative end-products under certain circumstances.