"Didn't read all the comments, so don't know if it's been said before me. But basically, what they do is that manufacturers are always on the lookout for nice designs to make money of. They have no intention of really making the product, unless they get a lot of interest on AliExpress/ Alibaba. And if enough people will ask them to make it, they'll figure out how to and do it.We had just that case about a week ago, which happened to one of our clients at the studio I work for. He's a young inventor and just finished raising the funds he needed on KickStarter. Several days before the campaign ended, the product was already listed on AliExpress with our sketches, renderings and photos of working model that we did for him in China. For him it was a complement, but no doubt he's about to lose money because of it, and there is absolutely nothing one can really do once it's out there. Reverse engineering is easy enough, and once the product is available for all to see, you just have to beat them in your marketing, and remind your clients that your product is superior in safety, your guarantee, materials and finish quality etc."