(1) Patents and copyrights for may ultimately protect you to a degree but the government agencies granting them have no enforcement arm so you must discover a violation yourself, retain a lawyer, bring a court proceeding against a violator and then hope to recover your costs and a reasonable settlement if you win. Therefore, most of my clients initially use non-disclosure agreements (NDA’s) in dealing with other companies.
(2) The best intellectual property protections are well understood, practical, teaming relationships among partners, employees, industry and government. All sides in such relationships lose if disclosure or violations occur.
http://www.smalltofeds.com/2013/06/practical-intellectual-property.html