My $0.02: If you don&#x27;t have a lot of money, ignore patents for now, but realize that as soon as your ideas are public they are internationally unpatentable.<p>If you have a little money, file 1-2 key patents on your core ideas.<p>If you&#x27;re rolling in money, hire a patent firm to chart the landscape for you in a way that doesn&#x27;t expose you to willful infringement.<p>Note: the entire system is a steaming morass; I try to be pragmatic about it, but don&#x27;t disagree with those who want to flip the table and ignore the whole mess.