Protecting my idea

Answer 1

The dating of notebooks with witnesses is only useful in establishing a date of conception in the U.S.  If you intend to protect the technology in other countries, a Provisional Application, or a Patent Application will need to be filed, and time is of the essence.  

The U.S. is the only country that awards the Patent to the first to invent.  The rest of the world awards the Patent to the first to file the Patent Application.  When there are competing inventors with the same invention, it is not uncommon for Inventor A to be awarded the Patent in the U.S. and Inventor B to be awarded the Patent in Europe, Japan, China, Korea, and other countries.