This is not correct. If the tip came from an insider, it’s insider trading no matter who acts on it. See for example Martha Stewart who traded on an illegal tip from her stockbroker.
most of the Stewart case was about her actions post the tip. If she’d had just said “my broker told me to sell” she’d likely be good to go (who knows). But she didn’t. She obscured and made it obvious with her actions that she was trying to steal from other shareholders (by acting on information she should not have).
Has to be. If you are monitoring the travel activity of cisco and splunk execs and happen to see them go to a fancy dinner after weeks of office meetings, there is no way that is insider trading. That's the same thing as overhearing a phone call in a cab.
