The copycats are coming either way, you might as well make some money in the mean time. Even if it were impossible for copycats to emerge without these partners

The copycats are coming either way, you might as well make some money in the mean time. Even if it were impossible for copycats to emerge without these partnerships (so ignore domestic innovation, reverse engineering, foreign education, foreign consultants, and espionage) odds are your competitor already partnered so you have nothing more to lose.