Science Fiction Trade Secrets

Once again the issue of Trade Secrets comes up, this time because of our friend Pope Charles, who apparently reposted some fragment of OTVII. (I've forgotten what it was, I believe either the drivel about communicating to trees, or the drivel about seeking, finding, abandoning treasure)

The question is still before us: is it, or is it not, illegal for one of us who never signed any agreement with the CofS to post a small portion of their "trade secret" OT material?

Does the fact that this OT material has already been posted and reposted to the net for a number of months now mean that the OT material in question is no longer a trade secret? It was my understanding that something only remains a trade secret while it is still a secret, and once it has already been publicly revealed, it is no longer a trade secret. Any lawyer types out there want to comment on this?

[and how exactly can science fiction be a trade secret, anyway?]

It would be a good thing for us to establish once and for all what the laws are (which of course will vary from country to country) regarding trade secrets. If we can truly establish, with documentation, that a trade secret is lost once it has been publicly revealed, then we can make a list of all the OT material which is no longer a trade secret, and we can all feel free to discuss it and quote from it as much as we want, within the limits of fair use.

Stark