Also remember, that the fact that you may have a patent filed, this does not stop anyone from copying the patent. The strength lies in the litigation and defense of your patent, which means you need finance, and depending on the size of the offender, they may drag your case for years in court, requiring huge sums of money.
To be protected world wide, you need to file a patent in each country, this means you have to have really deep pockets, and if any country contests your application, then you have to defend the application which means more cash. To do the main countries on the American and European continent, requires approximately R5million.