Yes, I don't know what I'm talking about. As I said I went into a rabbit hole and provided a TLDR.

But do these guys know what they're talking about?

https://phage.directory/capsid/phage-patentability

You may have heard through the grapevine that “phages can’t be patented”, and yet, several phage patents exist, and biotech and pharma are starting to invest in phage-based therapeutics. What’s the deal? [...] However, the patentability of phage therapies has been called into question. Several patents in the same category as phages have actually failed to hold up in court. This suggests that even if companies can find ways to successfully file phage patents, these patents may end up being worthless.

So phages may need protection in other ways.