(1) If a start-up company is about to hold financing negotiations, or is likely to be acquired by a large company, it should apply for a patent as soon as possible to prove its technical ability and increase the negotiating weight.
(2) Which method to choose has a great relationship with the industry of the startup company (technical complexity, requirements for production technology). My personal conclusion is that if your competitors can make their products as good as you or even better than you by reading your patent specification, then you need to consider whether to apply for a patent or adopt the method of technical secrecy. After all, patent infringement litigation costs a lot of money, the lawsuit has not been won, and the market has been occupied by the other party. On the other hand, if your patented technology is high, and the other party is "overwhelmed", then of course you should apply as soon as possible.
(3) If you think that your technology is "basic", it can affect the industry structure and can be continuously improved, then apply for a patent as soon as possible, and you can make a profit by licensing the patent to a large company in the future.
(4) If your technology can be easily cracked by "reverse engineering", you should still apply for a patent, because the protection method of trade secrets is invalid. At this time, although you can't actually stop your opponent from using your technology (the litigation cost is too high), holding a patent is always justified and beneficial in product marketing.
(5) Patents have another feature: "If the application is filed late, the opportunity for protection will be lost forever, because once the invention is made public (including by the inventor himself, such as use, sale and printing, etc.). ), it is impossible to apply for a patent in China. Especially before the release of new products, we must think about whether there are inventions worthy of patent application. "
(6) To obtain a patent, you can apply for special innovation funds, government subsidies, park incentives and other subsidies or subsidies for small and medium-sized science and technology enterprises, which are sometimes life-saving.
Generally speaking, in most cases, we should apply for a patent as soon as possible. Although this is not very effective in establishing technical barriers in China, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. If a technology-based enterprise doesn't even have several patents, it is not convincing enough when negotiating with customers.