A resist protective coating material comprises a polymer comprising repeat units having formulae (1
a
) and (1
b
) and having a Mw of 1,000-500,000. R
1a
and R
1b
are H, F or alkyl or fluoroalkyl, R
2a
, R
2b
, R
3a
and R
3b
are H or alkyl, or R
2a
and R
2b
, and R
3a
and R
3b
may bond together to form a ring, 0