I made my first clay prototype yesterday, gotta say it's looking good!
I am a little skeptical of the patent, and may do one just to keep the honest people honest, but I know I can't stop an overseas knockoff. Realistically, my target market is isolated enough to begin with, that I will sell direct, online and out of a trailer at races and swap meets, etc. It's a large market, millions of registered owners, but it's a grassroots industry even to this day, where there are tons of products that are sold by small machine shops and whatnot, that could easily be copied overseas...but nobody would buy them and they are very much overlooked by the 'masses'. I'd still like to prevent people I would otherwise 'trust' from walking down the road and making their own, at least make it more costly and time consuming to do so if they are going to.
With that being said, licensing it to someone with deeper pockets may ultimately be a better solution, but I'm in it to have fun and see what I can do with it, as much as make any real money on it. Sort of like my PT build. I knew it wasn't a profit center, but I did it, and that was worth it. I see it as a way to be more involved with a sport I love and if it simply pays for itself, I'd be happy....well, maybe a new truck and trailer too.
