Xavier Has Developed a New Secret Diet Soda Recipe Using

Xavier has developed a new secret diet soda recipe using an ingredient no one else has ever used. He keeps the secret recipe locked in a secure vault for protection. Melia, angry with Xavier for breaking off their relationship, breaks into the safe based on the pass code Xavier had hidden in his desk. Melia sells the secret formula to a competitor who had been working to reverse engineer the formula. Can Xavier sue Melia for trade secret violation?

A) Yes, a trade secret is protected from unlawful appropriation by competitors as long as it is kept secret and consists of elements not generally known in the trade.
B) Yes, but only if the reverse engineering had not yet resulted in learning the secret ingredient.
C) No, because the competitor was already reverse engineering the formula to learn the ingredient.
D) No, formulas are not protected by trade secret laws but by patents.
E) No, formulas are protected by copyright laws and not trade secret laws.