The Patent Sweet Spot: How to Identify the Real Value in a Biotech Patent Family

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 overreaching into prior art or unsupported territory.

In other words, your sweet spot is where the patent covers what you’ve proven, excludes what’s already known, and most importantly, defines the part of your invention that delivers real commercial impact.

Why Biotech Makes This So Challenging

Biotech is an unpredictable art. Unlike predictable fields like mechanical engineering or software, you can’t always infer biological function from structure. The science is complex, the prior art is dense, and experimental success is never guaranteed.

That’s why robust working examples are the backbone of valuable biotech patents. They provide the proof that supports your inventive scope — and they help establish three critical things:

• Enablement – showing that others can reproduce the invention without undue experimentation.

• Written Description – demonstrating that you truly “possess” the invention by disclosing representative structures or compositions across the claim scope.

• Non-Obviousness – proving that the invention wasn’t an obvious next step from prior art, often backed by unexpected results shown in your examples.

  
  

How to Build Patents That Hold Up — and Hold Value

If you want your biotech patents to stand up, and stand out, start with your data.

Encourage your R&D teams to generate multiple working examples that span the key claim attributes. Include negative data too — examples where the inventive effect fails can be just as valuable as those where it succeeds.

And most importantly, align your claim scope with your data: not too narrow, not too speculative.

These working examples form the evidence your patent needs to withstand scrutiny, and the foundation for IP assets that carry lasting commercial value.

Finding Your Patent Family’s Sweet Spot

When you’re assessing the value of your patent family, start here:

The sweet spot lies within the scope of your working examples that are novel over the art and solve a real problem or yield unexpected results.

In biotech patenting, finding and protecting that sweet spot is how you turn scientific discovery into lasting competitive advantage. And once you’ve identified it, you’ll have a clear, data-driven view of where your patent portfolio’s true value really lies

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About DHL

Double Helix Law (DHL) has decades of experience building strong patent portfolios for life science companies. Learn more about DHL and meet the team.

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The content on this website (including all pages, articles, and comments) is not legal advice, and does not and is not intended to form or constitute any attorney-client relationship. The content is not a solicitation for business; it is for educational and entertainment purposes only, and reflects the personal views of the author(s) only and not those of any past, present, or future client of DHL. Any content should be double-checked for accuracy and current applicability, and liability is disclaimed for any error or omission.

10/16/25 Published (EJV)