#4 The Chocolate Conundrum

Number Four. The Chocolate Conundrum

Alright, I’ve got a question for you. Imagine that there is a famous chocolate company called Astra Sweets, and they have the best tasting chocolate in the world. It’s delicious. The secret ingredient was found by Nova, one of the company’s workers. The secret ingredient is a secret, and no other chocolate company knows what makes Astra Sweets so special.

Now Nova wants to start her own chocolate company called Nova Sweets. Can she use Astra’s secret ingredient, the one she found, in her new chocolate recipe?

Option A: No (Team Astra Sweets)
Option B: Yes (Team Nova Sweets)

So, are you Team Astra Sweets or Team Nova Sweets?

Writing: Josh Dahn and the Astra Nova Conundrums Team
Animation: Igor Coric, ARTRAKE
Voice: Tre, Carasmatic Productions
SFX and Music: Matthew Pablo
Sound Mixing: David Dans, Carasmatic Productions

[TeacherMom]

It would depend on if she signed any contracts while working at Astra Chocolate and/or if theres a patent.
(1) Maybe she could rebrand it with permission from Astra Chocolate, or
(2) Astra Chocolate could get royalties for every candy bar she makes with the special ingredient in it, or
(3) both company names could be on specific chocolate bars & each company would get a percentage of the profit, or
(4) Astra Chocolate could invest in her new company by allowing her to rent space on their property, so Nova Chocolate & Astra Chocolate would support eachother's businesses by attracting customers that each company would profit from, while each business remained an independent entity, or
(5) like my old hairdresser had to do when she wanted to open her own salon -- she had to sign a "6 months or 6 miles" contract when she started working at the salon she was resigning from -- meaning, she had to wait 6 months before opening her own salon or open a salon that was at least 6 miles away. 🤷🏼‍♀️
This conundrum was definately food for thought! 😆 And now I most definately want some chocolate!

[jokertive]

yes, if not they wouldn’t innovate innovation is key for the betterment of everything and if we hide ingredients and new advances from each other we just slow the innovation process so i propose a smaller time period where a company can hold a patent till it is made public

[GANKAYANNEMoe]

Nova Sweets. Because it was Nova who found the top secret recipes, so since its her recipe she can definitely start her own chocolate factory.

[THEMATT]

The question can simply be solved by communicating with the company. It also depends if she got paid to make the recipe or was she paid for the license. If she was paid to make then it is possible but if she was paid for the license then I think she can't use it.

[AndrewWang.]

that's Nova committing grand larceny against a trade secret. 10 years in federal prison to you Nova. Oh and a fine of $5, 000, 000. good luck.

[lizzy-wmpo]

Depends on what they agree on, but my personal opinion is, that Nova should be able to take the recipe as power shifts.

[CamSchmidt]

Interesting conundrum. These are the conundrums that have led to Non-Compete clauses and the creation of Patents. I've been internally arguing it both ways.

Nova discovered it at the company, so it could be her creation giving her the right to make her own business.
Nova discovered it while on the company's dime, so it would be the right of the business to use as they wish.

Really interesting. In similar real life situations, I could see myself going either way depending on any other information.

[KatyShow]

I I think she should pay the Astra Sweets company for using it.

[kuldipparmar]

I think This depend on employee agreement ..🤔

[princestevenii.]

Team Astra Sweets. If she uses the recipe people will think it's a ripoff or a scam. And she was making money from working for them. She was paid by them for that recipe. Imagine if I work at a factory. I get paid to make phones, and after that I take the phones to sell and make money for myself.

[stephaniemosher]

We need to know the terms of her employment contract, however, most of us in Nova's position would want to use our own discovery. What deal did Nova make when she gave the information to Astra to begin with?

[oofmaster]

Team nova sweets. More competition is always good, and considering they have the same taste, each company will try to one up each other. It’s good for consumers.

[shahtradez]

Team Nova sweets if there are no structures & boundaries in place to prevent Nova from doing so.

[ari]

Team astra sweets. Despite stealing the secret formula, Nova will have to alter it in some way because the secret ingredient is still legally Astra sweets', and people all around the world will recognise the flavor and accuse Nova of stealing the recipe. If we think about the movie, Willy Wonka and the chocolate factory, we can see what would likely happen in this conundrum. If Nova ends up failing despite stealing the formula, then everything will be fine (not for nova, of course). If she did end up making the company big (in which she'll probably need to hire a lot of employees to help her, and these employees will likely be her closest colleagues from Astra sweets) the word will eventually get out to one of the higher-ups from Astra. For any company, giving out the "secret" for what makes their ideas THEIRS is no easy task, whether done intentionally or unintentionally. Unless Astra can generate new ideas at a fast rate, exceeding the value old recipes for their chocolates so their company's market won't collapse (since Nova's company might sell the chocolate in bulk at a much lower price).

If what Nova did is a giant threat to Astra sweets, Nova will likely get into a lot of trouble and will get the rest of the employees at astra in trouble as well (due to the lack of trust amidst the company). Nova will likely get sued.
In order for nova's company to work, she will need to make alterations to the original astra sweets chocolate recipe, and she will need to make it much better, not only a subtle change. She will need to make a chocolate breakthrough in some way to 1. make it so that she's not plagarzing Astra sweets to avoid getting sued, and 2. she will likely gain many employees to help make her company even bigger. Otherwise, it is unwise for her to use astra sweets' original recipe, as it will likely not only be a consequence to her, but for her former colleagues as well.

[rosante]

No, because Nova should make an agreement with the company at first

[eleafy]

Will combine this with ethics (self note)

[ravenclaw_life]

Personally, she should be allowed to use her recipe because she's the one that put in the work. Legally, the court would most likely rule in favor of the multi-million-dollar company because she discovered it under their employment.

[harpsingh]

it's like Apple is hiring Tesla employees to build their own electric car. So i am with Team Tesla (Astra sweets). Secondly Nova discovered it in Astra Sweets 's R.N.D

[malaikawaithera]

yes cause she is the founder of the secret ingredient

[AlismonitesPatrides]

Whatever contact she had signed at Astra sweets.