Disclaimer: This question is verging on a legal question, and since I am not a lawyer, this answer doesn't constitute legal advice. If you want legal advice hire a lawyer.

You can't really do anything to prevent someone from stealing something you have designed, especially if it's something you are publishing publicly or something you are selling to the general public. If a design can be seen then it can be stolen.

If we could stop theft, then the police and judges would be out of a job.

However, the law does offer some protection - it's called copyright, and there's nothing you need to do to get it. Copyright is conferred automatically to the author of a work when it is created. Please note: that laws differ by country obviously. In some countries you can register your work for extra protection, such as the USA, but that isn't required here in the UK for example.

Disclaimer: This question is verging on a legal question, and since I am not a lawyer, this answer doesn't constitute legal advice. If you want legal advice hire a lawyer.

You can't really do anything to prevent someone from stealing something you have designed, especially if it's something you are publishing publicly or something you are selling to the general public. If a design can be seen then it can be stolen.

You could always lock your designs away never to see the light of day, but then nobody would ever see them.

If we could stop theft, then the police, lawyers and judges would be out of a job.

However, the law does offer some protection - it's called copyright, and there's nothing you need to do to get it. Copyright is conferred automatically to the author of an original work when it is created. Please note: that laws differ by country obviously. In some countries you can register your work for extra protection, such as the USA, but that isn't required here in the UK for example.