Mr. Aeolist, As a practicing U.S. patent attorney, I get this question quite a bit. What I usually advise clients is that you should protect your invention, bu

Mr. Aeolist, As a practicing U.S. patent attorney, I get this question quite a bit. What I usually advise clients is that you should protect your invention, but you shouldn't protect it to DEATH. Your goal is to monetize your invention, and that means selling products or services. You can't sell something without showing it to people, right? I find the best balance between secrecy and disclosure is to file patent applications for your invention, thereby starting the patent process, and then start the process of developing it, showing it around, etc. Legal work related to patents can be expensive, but you could get a provisional patent application filed for $1,500, which is affordable for most. Enforcement is another issue, which can be costly. But law firms take patent infringement actions on contingency all the time, if you have a good case. This would not cost you a cent. I hope this helps. Sincerely, Mark Terry, Esq.