lol yep, you don’t publicize your secret sauce, you can do NDAs for your employees and partners. We were a small company and had a vested interest in the products success so no one squealed, but NDAs and severance agreements can assist even if they don’t prevent it 100% but still, a better chance than public information

if they find your patent, it will be their direct blueprint to copying it. My last company preferred trade secrets over patents for this reason.