Is it necessary for an agent to apply for a patent first?

The fee for an individual to apply for a patent for utility model (that is, the patent office fee) is only in 75 yuan.

If an agency is entrusted to handle it, a service fee will be charged. There is no standard for the service fee, which varies from region to region, about 2000-3500 yuan. The specific payment method can be negotiated with the agency.

I don't quite understand what you mean by "applying for a patent that nobody uses".

Patent application needs novelty and practicality. If your patented technology has been made public in the market, it will lose its novelty, and even obtaining a patent certificate has no substantive significance.