In fact, if this falls under trade secret, then whoever figures it out is free to own it. Not even sure copyright would protect the original if all they are pub

In fact, if this falls under trade secret, then whoever figures it out is free to own it. Not even sure copyright would protect the original if all they are publishing is obfuscated code. If they wanted to get serious about IP, software patents are probably the only option. Otherwise they shouldn't be releasing the code in any form IMHO.