Answer:
a. Because it wants to avoid disclosing how it makes its product.
Step-by-step explanation:
Filing for a patent is considered as a Trade secret which is registered in the inventor name. Trade secrets are intellectual property for a company. The companies can choose for trade secret instead of patent because it does not want to disclose its innovation to others. Also the company might not afford the registration fee for patents as the trade secrets have no cost for registration but if at a later date any competitor registers with the same formula as patent the inventor might lost its rights and claims to its invention.