Think a bit yourself. If you struck gold, you have zero chance not being cloned.
1. Do not strike gold — look for an easily entrechable position in niche market, like a lot of companies in US do
2. Economies of scale — works until your competitor bribes a banker for a giant loan
3. Be one step ahead — look at FAB business. In microelectronics fabrication, everybody copy each other, and you can't do anything about it, but somehow companies still maintain their positions
You always have to be one step ahead. No competitive edge lasts forever.
But there's a big difference between being cloned in a month, and being cloned in a year.
Within a year, maybe you could build a brand, create v2, have some economies of scale in dealing with your suppliers(harder to bribe), create some internal expertise.
The last situation is somewhat similar to the fabless companies.
1. Do not strike gold — look for an easily entrechable position in niche market, like a lot of companies in US do
2. Economies of scale — works until your competitor bribes a banker for a giant loan
3. Be one step ahead — look at FAB business. In microelectronics fabrication, everybody copy each other, and you can't do anything about it, but somehow companies still maintain their positions