There is the legal matter and there is the ethical questions.
Of course you'll have to weight out the situation before making decisions.
I'll give you an example. Window OS was expanded and marketed not by it's inventor but by people whom explore the potential. Some said there is no new idea on Earth, it depend on what you could do with the idea.
With the particular situation, there is not a definitive right or wrong.
In your case, if there is no patent on what you're working on, then perhaps there is no perceived value in itself by the others.