Kiera glanced up at the whiteboard filled with scribbles and sketches. Her latest polymer synthesis breakthrough felt big. Too big for just a single patent application. “For maximizing patent potential and overall value, I need to strategically split this up,” she explained to her attorney. “Can we safely file multiple applications?”

At Global Patent Solutions (GPS), we hear this compelling question often – an invention with exciting breadth hampered by focus in one application. But the filing flexibility of divisional applications offers tantalizing options. By pursuing follow-on patents, additional facets of Kiera’s discovery could see light as standalone protected intellectual property.

The strategic considerations around dividing an initial application into one or more divisionals include:

• Ensuring the initial application establishes priority broadly across the invention
• Drafting multiple incremental filings with clarity around distinct concepts
• Evaluating evolving commercial embodiments over time
• Weighing benefits against added costs and complexity

Pursuing divisional applications allows patent attorneys and keen inventors like Kiera to extract full value from their creative genius. A diversity of patent coverage fuels strategic licensing potential. And focused protection creates better enforcing power against would-be copycats.

Of course, not all inventions warrant parceling inventive concepts into multiple patents. Our team , and the attorneys we work with, guide clients like Kiera in determining when standalone spinoffs strengthen the commercialization map. GPS knows how to thoroughly research the original invention, as well as the patent and related technology activity that is tangential to the initial patent application, to guide the decisions. Effective patent attorneys then use this information to determine the right filing path and to draft effective claims for maximizing patent potential and protection, thereby optimizing long-term value.  For innovations with intriguing breadth like polymer synthesis platforms, this process and the resultant divisional filings can unlock hidden business potential.

Do you think your latest concept has layers beyond a single application? Let’s discuss options! Reach out to Global Patent Solutions today to start mapping divisional filing strategies that make your research roadmap a valuable contributor to company value.

This article is part of a series entitled “A Guide to Protecting Your Innovations”.  To start the series at the beginning, click here.

Next up in our series, we address: “Outmaneuvering Patent Examiner Rejections”