I'm preparing to file multiple hardware and software utility patents, and I've been speaking to a few patent agents and lawyers, but I'm looking for some feedback from people who've done this before.

We have a multinational user-base, so it would make sense to do a PCT, but also the inventions are not 100% ready, so most patent agents recommended filing multiple provisional applications to be later combined in a single national application.

I thought about filing multiple PCTs, but I was told it would be an unnecessary expense at this point.

Plus, I'm not a big fan of PCT making the application public record, as that could (in theory) come back and bite us hard if our competitors saw it.

Any recommendations?