The $20-30k is likely an average, spread over many years, and also skewed towards particularly expensive patents. As others note, provisionals and the early cos

The $20-30k is likely an average, spread over many years, and also skewed towards particularly expensive patents. As others note, provisionals and the early costs of filing can be relatively inexpensive. Clearly, in the software space patents are nice but not needed. However, they are the coin of the realm for biotech, clean tech, materials, and many other fields. There's some other papers by faculty at Berkeley (Ted Sichelman) showing that, in many fields, patents are one of the more prominent drivers of series A valuations.