Mary and Jane have developed a proprietary recipe for a high performance exterior paint. Thetwo are manufacturing the paint in their own plant and are distributing it through Home Depot stores. They want to make sure that they protect the recipe foras long a period of time as possible. The best course of action is

a)tokeep the recipe a trade secret and limit access to the formula

b)to file a patent with the US Patent and Trademark Office

c)to have Home Depot pay a premium forthe exclusive distribution of the paint

d)tofile a trademark for the name of the paint