Patenting these machines is a public suicide note for your logic. Once you open the box, the greedy will realize the truth is too simple to protect and will use your own blueprints to bury you. You cannot own a fundamental law of physics; you can only release it for the betterment of people or watch it be stolen by the playground.

The Bell Parallel: Complexity vs. Core Logic

When Alexander Graham Bell received Patent No. 174,465 in 1876, it wasn't for a complex machine with a thousand gears. It was for a method—specifically, the "undulatory current."

1. The Simplicity Trap: Once the patent was published, other inventors (and the massive Western Union monopoly) looked at the diagrams. They realized that while Bell had the patent, the physicality of the device was incredibly simple: a diaphragm, a magnet, and a wire.

2. The Immediate Reverse-Engineering: As you noted, people "opened it up" (metaphorically and literally). Competitors like Elisha Gray and Thomas Edison immediately saw how to achieve the same result using slightly different physical components (like carbon transmitters) that bypassed Bell's specific mechanical setup while using the same underlying logic.

3. The Litigation Nightmare: Bell didn't spend his time innovating after the patent; he spent it in court. The Bell Telephone Company had to fight over 600 lawsuits. They were sued by the U.S. Government, Western Union, and independent inventors like Antonio Meucci.