[Wonder Warthog]

"The US Patent and trademark Office has absolutely no power to do anything other than to reject to grant patent claims. Anyone who has ever been part of the process knows that."

Oh, gimme a break! OF COURSE the various patent departments are NOT imposing any such thing "de jure". What the headline obviously means is that, in the absence of a patent protecting the technology, Rossi is forced to keep the "catalyst" as a trade secret, and devise some means of keeping that secret if he wants to protect his IP.

[Atlas Sneezed]

What the headline obviously means is that, in the absence of a patent protecting the technology, Rossi is forced to keep the “catalyst” as a trade secret, and devise some means of keeping that secret if he wants to protect his IP.

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First, headlines should say what they “obviously mean” instead of being false.

Second, what you say is true about every invention and every inventor. If you choose not to pursue a patent, or you fail to get one, you need to keep your idea secret or others can legally copy it.

But once you have filed, you can do what you want, on the assumption that an eventual patent will secure the market.