Is there any IP created because you generated a particular program / interface? Perhaps not the code itself but the end product? In the early stages of my car

Is there any IP created because you generated a particular program / interface? Perhaps not the code itself but the end product? In the early stages of my career we were advised to never test out a competitors product for fears that we would inadventently copy something of theirs that was protected, but at my current company we compare our product to our competitors regularly. No risk there?