Mary is the cofounder of Acme Widgets, a manufacturing firm. Together with her partner, Joe, she has developed a special oil that will dramatically improve the widget manufacturing process. To keep the formula secret, Mary and Joe plan to make large quantities of the oil by themselves in the plant after the other workers have left. They want to protect this formula for as long as possible. What type of intellectual property protection best suits their needs?

An  associate degree  is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by community colleges, junior colleges, technical colleges, bachelor's degree–granting colleges, and universities upon completion of a course of study usually lasting two years.a  bachelor's  degree  (also baccalaureate, from modern latin baccalaureatus) is usually earned for an undergraduate course of study that normally requires three to five years of study (depending on institution and field of study).