Patenting: an informal FAQ for startups
This FAQ contains the most characteristic questions that I have to answer when working with inventors and applicants. The style of the questions is preserved whenever possible (for vivid perception), the grammar is corrected if necessary. The answers are also presented in free form and will allow you to look into the kitchen of the patent industry.
Q: “Tell me directly, do I need to patent my development or not?”
A: You know better. The calculator can help answer the question about the expediency of patenting an invention in each specific country (or in a group of countries): debit - the potential profit from the sale of products (goods, services) on the market of a specific country during the term of the patent; loan - the cost of preparing a patent application, the size of fees and fees of representatives in the process of patenting and the cost of maintaining the granted patent. It also makes sense to take into account related factors: the likelihood of claims from copyright holders of patents infringed by your products, the cost of patent disputes, etc., since having a strong patent portfolio sometimes helps resolve a patent dispute out of court, for example, by cross-licensing.
Q: “All so-called“ patent specialists ”bend that those who do not have NN kilobaxes go through the forest.”
A: Essentially true. Relatively cheap patenting in a single Russia is rarely anyone interested because of the limited market and the not always predictable interpretation of patent law by Russian courts. Foreign patenting is not cheap. To start the preparation of a patent application for an invention, you need to have at least $ 5k of free money and be ready to lay out about the same amount within 2-3 months, and only $ 30-300k over 10 years per each application, depending on the number of foreign countries in which the patent is to be obtained.
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Q: “Why is it so expensive to write an application, the patent specialist doesn’t need to invent anything?”
A: The cost of preparing an application for an invention in the Russian patent market varies greatly: you can find offers from 10 tr. up to 500 tr. Some patent offices even declare the possibility of free assistance to individual inventors under the pro bono program. The cost of work is determined by a number of factors: the purpose of filing an application, the performer’s qualifications, laboriousness, market niche and load.
The goals may be different: someone just needs to submit an application under the terms of a government contract or a grant — the cheapest option here, for example, applying for a utility model through this service . Another is required to obtain a patent for a rather complicated invention in 30 countries, and such that competitors cannot then annul it once or twice.
Qualifications have engineering and managerial experience plus patent experience; engineering experience is needed to understand the essence of the invention and to state it technically correctly, managerial experience - to squeeze out of the confused inventor and his employer all the information necessary to compile and submit an application, patent experience - to ensure the maximum amount of legal protection and at the same time minimize Applicant's risks associated with both obtaining a patent and patent disputes.
The complexity of preparing and submitting a good application (including comprehending the meaning of confusing notes and contradictory sketches of the authors of the invention, conducting a patent search and analysis, compiling descriptions and claims, preparing illustrations, coordinating text and illustrations with the authors of the invention and their superiors, preparation of documents establishing the legal relations of the authors of the invention with the applicant, preparation of the application container for electronic filing, payment of fees with Chet all benefits of the applicant, filing, receipt confirmation feed) is from 150 to 350 man-hours. Considering that an experienced specialist with an already established practice is unlikely to agree to work for less than 1000 rubles per hour, it is easy to calculate how much time you will spend on your application if they take, say, 30 tr. From you, and then estimate what really can be done during this time from the above list.
Market niche - the intersection of the subject area of ​​patenting (IT, Telecom, Biotech, Pharma, etc.) and the price sector of the patent market (one thing is a familiar junior patent expert in the Russian outback, the other is Baker & McKenzie); in each niche - their prevailing prices.
Downloading - to a good patent specialist, as to a good dentist or auto electrician, is almost always a queue; guess what you need to do to be at the beginning and not at the end.
Q: “Why do I need a patent search? I already know all my competitors. ”
A: Patent search provides data for subsequent analysis, which is of two types.
1. Patentability analysis - allows you to predict possible complications during the examination of the application on the merits and the risks of revoking the issued patent.
If, as a result of the search, generally similar technical solutions are identified, the examination with regard to priority may refuse due to the novelty of the claimed invention. If as a result of the search, partially similar technical solutions are identified, the examination with regard to priority can combine them and refuse inventive step.
As practice shows, state experts are looking for worse than search specialists, primarily because their time is more limited to the plan for reviewing applications (in 2011 I was told that in Rospatent an ordinary expert had 16 applications per month, i.e. the state expert spent on search and analysis of one application on average about 6 hours). But if someone wants to annul your patent, they will not regret time and money, they will be looking for exhaustion. To this must be prepared.
2. Freedom to operate analysis - allows you to predict possible claims of patent holders infringed by your products, which may be your competitors, scientific and research organizations, consortia, patent aggregators, etc.
At the same time, even the most thorough search does not give an absolute guarantee, firstly, because search results are always probabilistic in nature, secondly, there are already submitted, but still unpublished applications and so-called “underwater” applications and patents written in this way to make it harder to find them with search tools. Nevertheless, a qualitative search makes it possible in general to assess the patent situation in this sector of the market and its results can be taken into account when choosing a strategy to protect developments, for example, to patent, keep the development in know-how mode, buy a license, apply an open license, etc.
Q: "Who is better to involve in work - patent or patent attorneys?"
A: Patent and patent attorneys are non-parallel planes of the patent industry. From the definition it follows that they intersect and are not an absolute alternative to each other.
A patent specialist is the name of a specialty, for example, “04/27/08 Intellectual Property Management. Patent engineer. Like, say, an art historian or merchandiser. A patent generalist with no technical or scientific specialization is an office plankton, a specialist in handling patent papers. These are also needed. But not to you. A patent researcher who has long and fruitfully worked in your or in the related field, can be a good option both for drafting an application and for conducting correspondence with the patent office. Look for these should be on the recommendation.
The patent attorney of the Russian Federation is the status in accordance with the Federal Law of the Russian Federation N 316- “On Patent Attorneys”, which gives its holder a number of privileges, primarily the right to represent the interests of foreign persons before Rospatent. To become a patent attorney, for example, with the specialization of "invention", you need to have a higher education (any), document the existence of four years of practical experience in this specialization (invention) and pass a qualification exam. Among patent attorneys there are people with a wide range of education - technical, medical, philological, art history ... Their practical experience in a specific subject area also varies widely - from the head of a laboratory, say, wide-band semiconductors, together with the degree of doctor of physical and mathematical sciences, to complete lack of this experience. The latter is often referred to as second-generation patent attorneys - they receive a formal four-year patent experience, listed as assistants in the patent firms of their parents immediately after the university.
By the way, besides the specialization of patent attorneys "inventions and utility models", there are others - "trademarks", "industrial designs", "appellations of origin of goods" and "programs for electronic computers, databases, topologies of integrated circuits" therefore, it makes sense to ask about the formal specialization of the patent attorney you are going to deal with.
A patent attorney can be a patent specialist at the same time. This may be a good option for you if the patent experience gained by him in or near your subject area. In addition, a patent attorney may be a lawyer. This is a plus, all other things being equal, but it should hardly be a determining factor in the light of the preparation of applications.
A full list of patent attorneys can be found on the FIPS website .
However, you will not find a subject (ie technical or scientific) specialization of patent attorneys there. Patent offices (not only Rospatent) do not deal with this issue in principle, leaving it at the mercy of the market. How to find "your" patent attorney? Answer: also recommendations, word of mouth. You can also search in the patent database for applications that were conducted by one or another attorney (the “representative” and “address for correspondence” fields), and figure out which industry he had the most to deal with. Then you can contact the suitable candidates and directly ask what else they have done in life. Large patent firms, as a rule, have attorneys with practical experience in various industries; This gives some chance that your application will be in the right hands, however, you most likely will not be able to influence the choice of attorney in such a company, except in cases of conflict situations.
Patent specialists who are not patent attorneys or patent attorneys can be found on the market. This is a taxi without drafts. They just do business. These are experts from patent firms (the ones that will write your applications, if you go to the patent firm, it is clear that they are working on the side without publicity), government experts (the ones that will check your applications for patentability, oh terrible horror, but still, yes, they are also informally engaged in private practice, although - shhh! - they are asked not to spread this ), as well as independent patent examiners. The latter is usually a temporary condition on the way from full-time experts to patent attorneys. Search for all such "passport-free" should also be on the recommendations.
I almost forgot: there are still lawyers, including those with a specialization in intellectual property. They can be useful in some cases, for example, if you need to draw up a license agreement or prescribe an item on the results of intellectual activity in an employment or collective agreement. Or when considering a patent dispute in the Chamber of Patent Disputes of Rospatent. Also, lawyers are needed - if the patent dispute comes to court. You are unlikely to need lawyers to prepare applications.
Q: “To whom it is better to contact - a private specialist or a patent firm?”
A: “Private traders” and “Firmachi” are also different planes of the patent industry. Both options have their pros and cons.
Freelancer On the one hand, a private specialist will be cheaper: he has lower taxes and overhead costs (or not at all), no profit to earn for the owners of the company, much lower or no image component of the price. The normal hourly rate of a "private trader" is from 1,000 to 4,000 rubles per hour. The lower limit corresponds to a competent patent specialist from an industrial company who earns outside work during his free time, the upper one - to a patent attorney in private practice. Working with a “private trader”, you can be more confident that this particular person will do the work for you. In addition, from a private specialist, you will receive more personal attention.
On the other hand, a freelancer works alone and this causes specific risks: illness, accident, tax hikes, personal problems, depression, the urge to leave everything and go to the islands for a couple of months can be fatal to work on your application. If suddenly in the process of work conflicts arise due to personal peculiarities of communication, mode of operation, approach to protection policy, etc., then you will have to either endure or stop working with the risk of losing the paid advance.
The patent firm takes the work more expensive. The normal hourly rate of the company is from 2000 to 8000 rubles per hour. The lower limit corresponds to microfirms consisting of two or three people, the upper limit to market leaders. Almost all firms work with 100% prepayment of the order. By the way, in more or less large firms they will gladly tell you about the merits of their patent attorneys, but will be modestly silent that your application will be mainly dealt with by some junior associate, or assistant attorney, or patent engineer, and attorney, at best , will check its work diagonally before shipping. Do not be surprised. This is a common practice. But there is more than one person working there and there is someone to pick up the fallen banner, if that. And if you are not satisfied with the specific contractor that you have been assigned, you can quarreling and try to get a specialist to be replaced by the authorities of the company. True, firms, as a rule, work on a stream, and the more solid the firm, the wider and faster this flow, which means that they will not be involved in the “education and upbringing of the client”. The client either agrees with the opinion of the company and completely trusts it, or ceases to be a client.
Yes, one more thing: it’s not a fact that the patent company you have chosen will wish to serve you. Foreign patenting is a long process with poorly predictable deferred expenses, and according to an unwritten code, your Russian representative who hired a foreign (for example, American) representative for your application will be required to pay his bills, even if at some point you refuse to patenting. It is likely that if you do not provide a guarantee or a bank guarantee, then you will be denied a solid company under a plausible excuse, for example, referring to a potential conflict of interest with other clients.
By the way, you should be aware that the above hourly rates are the basis of pricing, regardless of who you choose. Even if at the negotiations you insisted on your specific price for a specific work and are glad that you saved, in practice this will mean that the contractor will simply divide your price by his hourly and spend exactly as much time as you paid for the work.
Q: “Which patent application is better to file - for an invention or utility model?”
A: It depends on the purpose of patenting - what and how you want to protect. When making a decision, the following features of patenting utility models should be considered.
1. In Russia, a patent for a useful model costs two to three times less than a patent for an invention, and it can be obtained almost three times faster - in 6-8 months (obtaining a patent for an invention takes from 12 to 36 months and even more in cases complications of examination, on average - 18 months).
2. A patent for a utility model is valid for a maximum of 10 years with the possibility of renewal for a maximum of 3 years (a patent for an invention is valid for a maximum of 20 years, in some cases it is possible to extend it for a maximum of 5 years).
3. A patent for a useful model may be obtained on a device and not on a method, use for a new purpose, substance, strain of a microorganism, cell culture.
4. Utility models do not exist in all countries. In particular, in the US they are not.
5. In Russia, by law, a utility model must meet two conditions of patentability - novelty and industrial applicability. However, in practice, in the overwhelming majority of cases, the patentability check is not performed, i.e. A patent for a utility model is issued "under the parole of the applicant." Therefore, in the event of a third party attempting to cancel it, Rospatent will simply “wash his hands” and will not even defend the honor of the uniform, as is usually the case with a patent for an invention.
6. Since the choice of a patent for a utility model as a method of legal protection is dictated, as a rule, by considerations of economy of forces and means and applications for utility models are written carelessly, then in most cases it is not difficult to cancel such patents, i.e.their value in terms of protecting the interests of businesses is small.
Q: “Do I need to submit a provisional application? And some say, like, cool, others - plywood, money to the wind ... ”
A: Provisional Application (preliminary patent application in the USA) is the same patenting tool as any other application - national, regional or international. In general, no better and no worse. It has its own characteristics, advantages and disadvantages. You can read more about the preliminary application here: Provisional Application and why it is needed .
Q: “Tell me directly, do I need to patent my development or not?”
A: You know better. The calculator can help answer the question about the expediency of patenting an invention in each specific country (or in a group of countries): debit - the potential profit from the sale of products (goods, services) on the market of a specific country during the term of the patent; loan - the cost of preparing a patent application, the size of fees and fees of representatives in the process of patenting and the cost of maintaining the granted patent. It also makes sense to take into account related factors: the likelihood of claims from copyright holders of patents infringed by your products, the cost of patent disputes, etc., since having a strong patent portfolio sometimes helps resolve a patent dispute out of court, for example, by cross-licensing.
Q: “All so-called“ patent specialists ”bend that those who do not have NN kilobaxes go through the forest.”
A: Essentially true. Relatively cheap patenting in a single Russia is rarely anyone interested because of the limited market and the not always predictable interpretation of patent law by Russian courts. Foreign patenting is not cheap. To start the preparation of a patent application for an invention, you need to have at least $ 5k of free money and be ready to lay out about the same amount within 2-3 months, and only $ 30-300k over 10 years per each application, depending on the number of foreign countries in which the patent is to be obtained.
')
Q: “Why is it so expensive to write an application, the patent specialist doesn’t need to invent anything?”
A: The cost of preparing an application for an invention in the Russian patent market varies greatly: you can find offers from 10 tr. up to 500 tr. Some patent offices even declare the possibility of free assistance to individual inventors under the pro bono program. The cost of work is determined by a number of factors: the purpose of filing an application, the performer’s qualifications, laboriousness, market niche and load.
The goals may be different: someone just needs to submit an application under the terms of a government contract or a grant — the cheapest option here, for example, applying for a utility model through this service . Another is required to obtain a patent for a rather complicated invention in 30 countries, and such that competitors cannot then annul it once or twice.
Qualifications have engineering and managerial experience plus patent experience; engineering experience is needed to understand the essence of the invention and to state it technically correctly, managerial experience - to squeeze out of the confused inventor and his employer all the information necessary to compile and submit an application, patent experience - to ensure the maximum amount of legal protection and at the same time minimize Applicant's risks associated with both obtaining a patent and patent disputes.
The complexity of preparing and submitting a good application (including comprehending the meaning of confusing notes and contradictory sketches of the authors of the invention, conducting a patent search and analysis, compiling descriptions and claims, preparing illustrations, coordinating text and illustrations with the authors of the invention and their superiors, preparation of documents establishing the legal relations of the authors of the invention with the applicant, preparation of the application container for electronic filing, payment of fees with Chet all benefits of the applicant, filing, receipt confirmation feed) is from 150 to 350 man-hours. Considering that an experienced specialist with an already established practice is unlikely to agree to work for less than 1000 rubles per hour, it is easy to calculate how much time you will spend on your application if they take, say, 30 tr. From you, and then estimate what really can be done during this time from the above list.
Market niche - the intersection of the subject area of ​​patenting (IT, Telecom, Biotech, Pharma, etc.) and the price sector of the patent market (one thing is a familiar junior patent expert in the Russian outback, the other is Baker & McKenzie); in each niche - their prevailing prices.
Downloading - to a good patent specialist, as to a good dentist or auto electrician, is almost always a queue; guess what you need to do to be at the beginning and not at the end.
Q: “Why do I need a patent search? I already know all my competitors. ”
A: Patent search provides data for subsequent analysis, which is of two types.
1. Patentability analysis - allows you to predict possible complications during the examination of the application on the merits and the risks of revoking the issued patent.
If, as a result of the search, generally similar technical solutions are identified, the examination with regard to priority may refuse due to the novelty of the claimed invention. If as a result of the search, partially similar technical solutions are identified, the examination with regard to priority can combine them and refuse inventive step.
As practice shows, state experts are looking for worse than search specialists, primarily because their time is more limited to the plan for reviewing applications (in 2011 I was told that in Rospatent an ordinary expert had 16 applications per month, i.e. the state expert spent on search and analysis of one application on average about 6 hours). But if someone wants to annul your patent, they will not regret time and money, they will be looking for exhaustion. To this must be prepared.
2. Freedom to operate analysis - allows you to predict possible claims of patent holders infringed by your products, which may be your competitors, scientific and research organizations, consortia, patent aggregators, etc.
At the same time, even the most thorough search does not give an absolute guarantee, firstly, because search results are always probabilistic in nature, secondly, there are already submitted, but still unpublished applications and so-called “underwater” applications and patents written in this way to make it harder to find them with search tools. Nevertheless, a qualitative search makes it possible in general to assess the patent situation in this sector of the market and its results can be taken into account when choosing a strategy to protect developments, for example, to patent, keep the development in know-how mode, buy a license, apply an open license, etc.
Q: "Who is better to involve in work - patent or patent attorneys?"
A: Patent and patent attorneys are non-parallel planes of the patent industry. From the definition it follows that they intersect and are not an absolute alternative to each other.
A patent specialist is the name of a specialty, for example, “04/27/08 Intellectual Property Management. Patent engineer. Like, say, an art historian or merchandiser. A patent generalist with no technical or scientific specialization is an office plankton, a specialist in handling patent papers. These are also needed. But not to you. A patent researcher who has long and fruitfully worked in your or in the related field, can be a good option both for drafting an application and for conducting correspondence with the patent office. Look for these should be on the recommendation.
The patent attorney of the Russian Federation is the status in accordance with the Federal Law of the Russian Federation N 316- “On Patent Attorneys”, which gives its holder a number of privileges, primarily the right to represent the interests of foreign persons before Rospatent. To become a patent attorney, for example, with the specialization of "invention", you need to have a higher education (any), document the existence of four years of practical experience in this specialization (invention) and pass a qualification exam. Among patent attorneys there are people with a wide range of education - technical, medical, philological, art history ... Their practical experience in a specific subject area also varies widely - from the head of a laboratory, say, wide-band semiconductors, together with the degree of doctor of physical and mathematical sciences, to complete lack of this experience. The latter is often referred to as second-generation patent attorneys - they receive a formal four-year patent experience, listed as assistants in the patent firms of their parents immediately after the university.
By the way, besides the specialization of patent attorneys "inventions and utility models", there are others - "trademarks", "industrial designs", "appellations of origin of goods" and "programs for electronic computers, databases, topologies of integrated circuits" therefore, it makes sense to ask about the formal specialization of the patent attorney you are going to deal with.
A patent attorney can be a patent specialist at the same time. This may be a good option for you if the patent experience gained by him in or near your subject area. In addition, a patent attorney may be a lawyer. This is a plus, all other things being equal, but it should hardly be a determining factor in the light of the preparation of applications.
A full list of patent attorneys can be found on the FIPS website .
However, you will not find a subject (ie technical or scientific) specialization of patent attorneys there. Patent offices (not only Rospatent) do not deal with this issue in principle, leaving it at the mercy of the market. How to find "your" patent attorney? Answer: also recommendations, word of mouth. You can also search in the patent database for applications that were conducted by one or another attorney (the “representative” and “address for correspondence” fields), and figure out which industry he had the most to deal with. Then you can contact the suitable candidates and directly ask what else they have done in life. Large patent firms, as a rule, have attorneys with practical experience in various industries; This gives some chance that your application will be in the right hands, however, you most likely will not be able to influence the choice of attorney in such a company, except in cases of conflict situations.
Patent specialists who are not patent attorneys or patent attorneys can be found on the market. This is a taxi without drafts. They just do business. These are experts from patent firms (the ones that will write your applications, if you go to the patent firm, it is clear that they are working on the side without publicity), government experts (the ones that will check your applications for patentability, oh terrible horror, but still, yes, they are also informally engaged in private practice, although - shhh! - they are asked not to spread this ), as well as independent patent examiners. The latter is usually a temporary condition on the way from full-time experts to patent attorneys. Search for all such "passport-free" should also be on the recommendations.
I almost forgot: there are still lawyers, including those with a specialization in intellectual property. They can be useful in some cases, for example, if you need to draw up a license agreement or prescribe an item on the results of intellectual activity in an employment or collective agreement. Or when considering a patent dispute in the Chamber of Patent Disputes of Rospatent. Also, lawyers are needed - if the patent dispute comes to court. You are unlikely to need lawyers to prepare applications.
Q: “To whom it is better to contact - a private specialist or a patent firm?”
A: “Private traders” and “Firmachi” are also different planes of the patent industry. Both options have their pros and cons.
Freelancer On the one hand, a private specialist will be cheaper: he has lower taxes and overhead costs (or not at all), no profit to earn for the owners of the company, much lower or no image component of the price. The normal hourly rate of a "private trader" is from 1,000 to 4,000 rubles per hour. The lower limit corresponds to a competent patent specialist from an industrial company who earns outside work during his free time, the upper one - to a patent attorney in private practice. Working with a “private trader”, you can be more confident that this particular person will do the work for you. In addition, from a private specialist, you will receive more personal attention.
On the other hand, a freelancer works alone and this causes specific risks: illness, accident, tax hikes, personal problems, depression, the urge to leave everything and go to the islands for a couple of months can be fatal to work on your application. If suddenly in the process of work conflicts arise due to personal peculiarities of communication, mode of operation, approach to protection policy, etc., then you will have to either endure or stop working with the risk of losing the paid advance.
The patent firm takes the work more expensive. The normal hourly rate of the company is from 2000 to 8000 rubles per hour. The lower limit corresponds to microfirms consisting of two or three people, the upper limit to market leaders. Almost all firms work with 100% prepayment of the order. By the way, in more or less large firms they will gladly tell you about the merits of their patent attorneys, but will be modestly silent that your application will be mainly dealt with by some junior associate, or assistant attorney, or patent engineer, and attorney, at best , will check its work diagonally before shipping. Do not be surprised. This is a common practice. But there is more than one person working there and there is someone to pick up the fallen banner, if that. And if you are not satisfied with the specific contractor that you have been assigned, you can quarreling and try to get a specialist to be replaced by the authorities of the company. True, firms, as a rule, work on a stream, and the more solid the firm, the wider and faster this flow, which means that they will not be involved in the “education and upbringing of the client”. The client either agrees with the opinion of the company and completely trusts it, or ceases to be a client.
Yes, one more thing: it’s not a fact that the patent company you have chosen will wish to serve you. Foreign patenting is a long process with poorly predictable deferred expenses, and according to an unwritten code, your Russian representative who hired a foreign (for example, American) representative for your application will be required to pay his bills, even if at some point you refuse to patenting. It is likely that if you do not provide a guarantee or a bank guarantee, then you will be denied a solid company under a plausible excuse, for example, referring to a potential conflict of interest with other clients.
By the way, you should be aware that the above hourly rates are the basis of pricing, regardless of who you choose. Even if at the negotiations you insisted on your specific price for a specific work and are glad that you saved, in practice this will mean that the contractor will simply divide your price by his hourly and spend exactly as much time as you paid for the work.
Q: “Which patent application is better to file - for an invention or utility model?”
A: It depends on the purpose of patenting - what and how you want to protect. When making a decision, the following features of patenting utility models should be considered.
1. In Russia, a patent for a useful model costs two to three times less than a patent for an invention, and it can be obtained almost three times faster - in 6-8 months (obtaining a patent for an invention takes from 12 to 36 months and even more in cases complications of examination, on average - 18 months).
2. A patent for a utility model is valid for a maximum of 10 years with the possibility of renewal for a maximum of 3 years (a patent for an invention is valid for a maximum of 20 years, in some cases it is possible to extend it for a maximum of 5 years).
3. A patent for a useful model may be obtained on a device and not on a method, use for a new purpose, substance, strain of a microorganism, cell culture.
4. Utility models do not exist in all countries. In particular, in the US they are not.
5. In Russia, by law, a utility model must meet two conditions of patentability - novelty and industrial applicability. However, in practice, in the overwhelming majority of cases, the patentability check is not performed, i.e. A patent for a utility model is issued "under the parole of the applicant." Therefore, in the event of a third party attempting to cancel it, Rospatent will simply “wash his hands” and will not even defend the honor of the uniform, as is usually the case with a patent for an invention.
6. Since the choice of a patent for a utility model as a method of legal protection is dictated, as a rule, by considerations of economy of forces and means and applications for utility models are written carelessly, then in most cases it is not difficult to cancel such patents, i.e.their value in terms of protecting the interests of businesses is small.
Q: “Do I need to submit a provisional application? And some say, like, cool, others - plywood, money to the wind ... ”
A: Provisional Application (preliminary patent application in the USA) is the same patenting tool as any other application - national, regional or international. In general, no better and no worse. It has its own characteristics, advantages and disadvantages. You can read more about the preliminary application here: Provisional Application and why it is needed .
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/288416/
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