Is it idea theft when the keeper of KFC's secret recipe actually reveals it?

If you are a creator in food and beverage, and you pride yourself on writing original recipes, there is probably no more tantalising a thought than creating the next big secret recipe that will make you super-rich.

But what if you created the next equivalent to the 11 secret herbs and spices of Kentucky Fried Chicken, only to have your nephew spill the beans in an unassuming newspaper interview?

This isn't a story of idea theft in the traditional sense. In fact, Jay Jones should get nothing but credit for his expose, published in the Chicago Tribune. After all, Colonel Sanders' nephew Joe Ledington actually showed him the recipe (KFC says it isn't the real thing, but then again, they would have to say that even if it was).

As he puts it, "imagine my surprise when a list of 11 herbs and spices was plucked from a Sanders family scrapbook and placed into my hands. Crazy, right?"

Ledington later back tracks, calling the newspaper's editor and saying he wasn't sure if this was the original recipe.

Sound familiar?

You've just invented the next gadget or designed an amazing app. You tell your friends about it, being sure not to divulge what really makes it tick. Then your friends chance upon the secret, or just take an educated guess.

Next thing you're panicking that your secret is out. By now it's too late to patent it, because you can't register a patent on an idea that is already in the public domain.

So, there are three lessons to be learnt from this:

1. Take Intellectual Property seriously
2. PitchMark your idea - before your friends do.
3. Don't write your secret invention on a handwritten note and leave it to your nephew to find