After more than 25 years working with biotech innovators, I’ve learned that the real value of a patent family lies in the inventive scope where your science, legal strategy, and innovation truly meet . That intersection is what I call the patent sweet spot . So, what exactly is the sweet spot? It’s the range of claim scope that matches the working examples in your application — broad enough to protect what matters commercially, but grounded enough in data to avoid overreach

Innovation, collaboration, and thoughtful IP strategy, that’s what built Invitrogen’s success. And it’s still what drives the best biotech companies today. In 2004, I joined Invitrogen , one of the most dynamic biotech companies of its time. Recently, I came across my old Invitrogen catalog from that year, a snapshot of the start of the company’s golden era, and it brought back a flood of memories. The catalog reads like a roll call of transformative tools: Lipofectamine, Su

The Lip Service Problem In 25+ years of working with biotech leadership teams, I’ve heard countless executives assure investors, employees, and boards: “We are committed to strong patents.” But too often, those words are just lip service. Even well-meaning leadership teams that believe they are prioritizing IP often aren’t. The difference between talk and true commitment comes down to one rarely asked question: “What percentage of your R&D budget is dedicated to experiments r

Every biotech CEO says it. “We are committed to strong patents.” But here’s the uncomfortable truth: words don’t build patent fortresses. Budgets do. The question that separates talk from true commitment is simple: 👉  What percentage of your R&D budget is dedicated to experiments requested by your patent team to strengthen and broaden patents? If the answer is $0 , or “we don’t really track that,” then your company may be more vulnerable than you realize. Without patent-stre