well technically, yes and no

if I patent a microwave and specify exactly how it works, that part can't be trade secret

BUT if my trade secret is on using ruby diamond for deluxe premium microwave lazor THAT isn't specified on the patent, well that be a trade secret

but trade secret CAN ONLY BE PUNISHED IF someone insider leaks the info -- not much can be done if some junk collector finds out about the ruby stuff

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cowlevel a day ago | parent | next [-]

case in point: some youtuber recently reverse engineered the coca-cola formula

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sysguest a day ago | parent [-]

hmm but can they actually get the coca?

coca-cola's coca is the coca as in cocaine (literally)

so I heard DEA has some really strict controls on that coca producing facility (so it doesn't produce cocaine)

	▲	bonzini 18 hours ago \| parent \| next [-]
		He used fenchol (a basil-like aroma), tea tree oil and tannins to replace coca leaf extract. Without tea tree oil, it did taste substantially different from coca-cola and more like Pepsi, and without tannins it was more like diet coke.
	▲	ssl-3 a day ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		Coca isn't blanket-illegal. It's just very-heavily restricted in the States. (But not that restricted: My regular dentist is licensed to prescribe cocaine. At a federal level, it's less-restricted than the devil's lettuce is.) Coca-Cola buys spent coca remains, after they've had the party powder components extracted from them. This product is not particularly restricted.

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ssl-3 a day ago | parent | prev [-]

Right.

But lawyers are prone to using scary phrasing, even if that phrasing has no bite, and are free to write strongly-worded letters.

"I see that you've been publishing the privately-held, trade secret tomato processing technique I developed -- on the Internet! Now, tomato processors everywhere can see it! I'm really pissed! I demand that you stop doing this immediately! In fact, if you want a full enumeration of whar I really think about the terrible things you're doing, then I further demand that you pay me $25,000 for that effort!"

...it's got no bite, but it's a letter. It can be drafted and sent.

(It can also be ignored upon receipt.)