Licenses? Patents? How to protect yourself from copying?

Question

Law in IT

There is one simple and understandable idea (hardware and software complex). Currently in the working prototype stage.

It is planned to finalize and organize production.

How can you protect yourself from copying? So that it doesn’t turn out that then large players spied on and did not release the same thing in much larger volumes and simply did not force it out of the market. Well, it is possible that production will be carried out in China - how to protect yourself from these brothers?

Maybe someone who already had a similar experience - will share information? At least where to start?

Answer 1

The easiest way to defend yourself is to immediately release the most finished product and sell it to everyone before competitors fuss, whose copy no one will need. It is possible to patent, but be prepared to pay a lot of money to protect your patent rights; At the same time, different countries have their own rules and exist in order to be violated.

Answer 2

If someone needs it, then anyway, one way or another, they will “peep” and take ideas, especially “simple and understandable”, you won’t do anything about it. And as for clones of Chinese, etc. - even all sorts of aplas copy, and you are going to fight. Really interesting / new / relevant / etc. developments can (should) be patented.