How do you protect a patent from being copied overseas? Patents only apply in the US (you could however file the patent in each country that you want protection in) so that’s one thing to consider… I think the big thing is though that just having the patent is probably enough to scare another person from potentially ripping you off. A burglar probably wouldn’t try to break into your house if he saw a security system sticker on each of your windows, right? A potential copier doesn’t know how much money you have in the bank to defend your idea so I think even if you can’t afford to back it up, it could still be worth going through with.