When is the Secret Sauce No Longer Secret

From the Shanghai Daily, a story about the new head of McDonald's in China. The company's efforts have been lagging in that market.

Among other things, McDonald's is wary of franchising in China. According to the report,

"McDonald's and KFC corporately own and operate most of their stores in China. Some Chinese franchisees have signed on as partners, only to steal trade secrets or recipes and then open a competing store under a different name."

China is said to be passing additional laws to protect companies that operate restaurants through franchising.