Ask HN: Would you use a fast/cheap "prior art" service instead of a patent?
We’re exploring a tech-focused IP platform that helps startups publish fast, affordable “prior art” disclosures. The goal is to protect inventions without the cost or delay of patents, especially in this AI age where things move quickly.
The core proposition is: for a few hundred dollars, you get a timestamped, public disclosure that blocks others from patenting your idea.
We're trying to validate if this is truly valuable for early-stage founders.
Would you consider this a valid alternative to a low-value patent?
What would make you trust a platform offering this?
Is the $250-$500 price point compelling?
We also have a completely anonymous 60-second survey if you prefer that format: https://forms.gle/KSSWGc68RkNT9G8n6
We'll share a summary of the results here afterward. All perspectives are appreciated.
If I remember correctly, one has a year to patent an invention once it is publicly disclosed so I don’t see how this service offers any protection
How does disclosing an invention protect it? Protect it from what and for how long? If a patent isn't filed eventually then competitors can file.
Why not publish the invention on a blog?
Why not keep the invention a secret?
It's not so much for founders. Founders should just do the idea; see if others are doing it first. Form the LLC that can roll over and die if it smacks into a patent.
Your customers are the patent lawyers who need to do that research.
Your competitor is every AI.
There is no poor man’s patent.
Invention might not require them, but “patent” always means lawyers because patents are entirely a legal construct. Good luck.