Patent. It costs about 10k. March to bank and negotiate it. That sum is somewhat easy to earn if you fail, they have almost no risk.<p>Once you have &quot;pending&quot; you have your idea protected enough. Marketing should start as soon as it&#x27;s filed.<p>Nobody cares to copy as long as your patent is seen invaluable. If it&#x27;s seen as valuable, you can easily sell it to someone who will defend it. Or raise funds to protect it yourself, as it&#x27;s now reasonable investment.<p>I&#x27;m in the same boat and have been for few years now. It sucks and it will continue sucking untill it&#x27;s filed. I&#x27;m honestly scared.