system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
[Spongebob Squarepants] Why is Plankton investing so much time and effort into stealing the Krabby Patty secret formula? Surely making his own KPs would be illegal?

Krabbs being the shrewd businessman that he is, *must* have copyrighted/patented/trademarked the Krabby Patty. So even if Plankton steals the formula, he can't legally produce and sell them, correct? Really he's dooming his own business venture by stealing and reselling an existing product. 

Why doesn't he just focus his efforts on either making enough money to *legally* buy out Krabbs and the right to sell Krabby Patties, or improve his own products? I presume a large amount of his mission is down to his desire to beat Krabbs, but surely it would be even better to beat him legally by producing a superior product? Why not also create a side business selling technology and gadgets to fund research and development into decent food production? 

And why hasn't any governing body shut down Plankton for his illegal business practices and (I'm assuming based on his lack of customers) presumed bankruptcy?
gpt
Patients require you to post how a thing is made, when the patent expired anyone can make it. Trademarks protect the name, not the product itself, someone can still make the exact same burger under a different namr. And you can't copyright a recipe; you can copyright a specific wording but not the "concept" of the recipe itself.

There is a reason that Coca-Cola, KFC, Pepsi, etc keep their recipes in a vault, Trade Secrets are the only long term way to keep a recipe secure.

The industrial espionage that plankton engages in is wildly illegal though, in the real world companies are careful never to cross that line. Pepsi even turned in a Coke employee for trying to sell them the recipe for Coca-Cola.