I would say no. Although I might be mistaken as I don't know what exactly is the application capable of. But from the brief description I think it doesn't contain any magic; something that competitor would love to see. The only benefit I see for competitors is the bad press.
Not if Symantec has any proof that they've touched it. You're legally screwed if you touch this code thanks to any combination of patents, trade secrets, or even good old-fashioned copyright violation (just because the source is out there doesn't mean you can use it).