Hi AnSa,
I’m not a legal counsel, to be clear about the information below.
The best way to protect your work is to copyright it.
https://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-general.html#protect
Any file format that might have a complete data set will be, at some point, not safe.
Some apps can open GLB files already, which leads to the idea that any encryption might be only a question of time.
On the other hand, there are some thoughts about that subject:
• If you don’t trust the client, why bother to begin with? A good client will establish a relation, which will end after a theft.
• If you have a unique model, then it is typically already protected, but you need to prove when it was created. (Don’t fall for that sent yourself an envelope stuff)
• If your work can be seen (previewed), any skilled modeler will be able to recreate it, perhaps, which means: Is your asking price that high to allow for such a risk on the client site?
• Anyway, any copyright protection is only as good as you are willing to fight for. Which means, also, worldwide with varying laws (or no laws at all).
• If you have a specific skill and a resulting quality in your models, perhaps take the risk and built up a relationship with the client. After a while, a short-lived theft of your work will not be anything they would like to do anyway.
•Are there people in this world who steal (?), sure, but since social media has changed everything, things get faster in the wide open. No company would risk this easily.
All of that being said, as an artist, not in any way as a legal counsel.
All the best
