[BuffaloJack]

“International patents trump US patents”.
Not true. A patent’s protection is only good in the country issued. If, however, someone from another country copies your invention, they call sell it anywhere you don’t have a patent. If they try and bring it here, you get an attorney and take them to court, because that is infringement.

I currently hold about 20 US patents and about 45 foreign patents covering the same inventions as the 20 US patents. Any intellectual property lawyer will tell you that a patent is only as good as your will to sue for infringement.

[ThreePuttinDude]

I was told by the patent lawyer that if I were to talk to
companies outside of the US, they could and probably would
take the design of my product and there wasn't anything I
could do about it.

It made me rather protective of giving out information about it.