Startups often rush to file patents while their product is still taking shape. The pressure can come from investor expectations or the instinct to claim a patent early. But I've seen too many founders spend $20,000 … $30,000 … protecting ideas that never reach the market.

Being selective avoids that capital drain. A rushed filing may feel safe, but if product plans change or the market shifts, you've locked in a cost with little return.

After 25 years of helping startups protect what matters, I've developed a five-question filter to make smarter, more strategic patent decisions:

Does it solve a technical problem with a technical solution?

Will it still matter to the business in 2-20 years?

Can it become foundational and reusable across products?

Does it offer market differentiators over competitors?

What are its chances of getting your application issued from the patent office?

Here's how to think through these five questions.

Related: The Basics of Protecting Your Intellectual Property, Explained

To ease pushback from the patent office, your invention should solve a technical problem with a technical solution. It must go beyond abstract ideas or human-centered processes to improve how a system, product or service functions.

If it has advantages over known solutions, for example, efficient data processing, improved mechanical reliability or strengthening a component's structure, you're likely on solid ground. These differences affect how a product performs, not just what it does.

In contrast, innovations focused on managing human activity,........

© Entrepreneur