Many beginning inventors are obsessed with secrecy. You can seek to acquire certain intellectual property rights in the invention. And a typical infringement suit starts in the range of a quarter million dollars. The intellectual property licensing business depends in large measure on good will. Intellectual property rights add a useful intimidation factor.
Professional inventors expect to get ripped off occasionally.
It comes with the territory. They count on the fact that there are more ethical people in business than there are unethical. Consequently, they'll succeed more often than they'll get ripped off. Formerly head of Advanced Engineering for Ford, now he invents for his own account and for others for fee. A couple of his experiences, which he shared with us recently, illustrate how an inventor can get ripped off despite doing virtually everything right.