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Guided answer
When should my startup file its first patent?
Cash, timing and disclosure, in the order they actually bite.
File when you can describe how it works, not when it feels finished.
The trigger is technical maturity, not product maturity.
- If a competent engineer in your field could build it from your description, you are ready.
- If you can only describe what it does, a filing now buys a date on a sentence.
- Use the concessional fee categories - natural persons, startups, small entities and educational institutions pay substantially less.
- Check whether you qualify for expedited examination under rule 24C; it can remove years.
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This is educational guidance, not personalised legal advice. It cannot see your documents, your dates or the prior art, and those are usually what decide the answer. Use it to understand the question, then take advice on your own facts.
Not sure whether this applies to your invention?
The honest answer usually needs someone to look at your actual disclosure, your timeline and the prior art. That is a conversation, not an article.