Author: Aindrila Mitra
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Family Overlap: Stop Paying Twice for the Same Coverage
You work too hard to pay twice for the same thing. Yet many founders do exactly that with their patents. They build something new, file one patent, then build the next version and file again—without checking what they already own. The result? Overlap. Duplicate filings. Extra legal bills. And weaker protection than they think. Let’s…
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Maintenance Fees vs. Value: When a Patent Isn’t Worth Renewing
A patent is not a trophy. It is a tool. And like any tool, it only makes sense to keep it if it still does the job. Many founders believe once a patent is granted, the hard part is over. But that is not true. The real question comes later. Should you keep paying to…
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Patent ROI Framework: Score Each Asset Before You Pay Again
You should not pay another dollar on a patent until you know exactly what it is worth to your startup. Not what you hope it is worth. Not what your lawyer says. Not what feels impressive in a pitch deck. What it is actually worth. Every patent you file, every renewal fee you pay, every…
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Keep, Narrow, or Abandon? A Step-by-Step Patent Triage Guide
You filed a patent. Or maybe you are thinking about filing one. Now you are staring at it and asking a hard question: should I keep pushing this forward, narrow it down, or walk away? This is not just a legal choice. It is a business move. It affects your runway, your leverage with investors,…
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Portfolio Pruning 101: How to Cut IP Costs Without Losing Protection
Patents cost money. Sometimes a lot of it. Filing fees, lawyer time, office actions, renewals, foreign filings—it adds up fast. If you are building a startup, every dollar matters. But cutting patents the wrong way can hurt you later when investors ask hard questions or a big company copies your work. That is where portfolio…
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Patent Center Power Tips: Templates, Saved Submissions, and QA Checklists
You are building something that matters. Maybe it is code. Maybe it is hardware. Maybe it is a new model that no one else has trained the way you have. You move fast. You ship. You test. But when it comes to patents, things suddenly feel slow, heavy, and confusing. That is where most founders…
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Common E-Filing Rejections: How to Read and Fix Them Fast
You spent weeks building your product. You wrote code late at night. You tested, fixed, and tested again. Then you finally filed your patent application online. You hit submit. And then—rejection. Not because your idea is weak. Not because it is not new. But because of something small in the filing system. This happens every…
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Status Tracking in Patent Center: Workbench, Alerts, and History
You filed a patent. Now what? This is the part no one talks about. After you hit submit, your idea does not just sit there. It moves. It gets reviewed. It gets pushed forward. It can stall. It can get questions. It can even get rejected if you miss something. If you do not track…
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Public vs Private Records: What Shows Up and When
Most founders do not think about public records until it is too late. You are busy building your product, hiring your team, and talking to users. But the moment you file a patent, form a company, raise money, or sign certain documents, parts of your work can become visible to the public. The question is…
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Managing Large Attachments: Splitting, Merging, and Compression
Big files break deals, slow teams, and quietly kill momentum. One oversized attachment can stop an email, delay a filing, or make a simple task feel heavy and risky. Founders, engineers, and fast-moving teams run into this problem all the time, especially when sharing designs, data, code, or patent materials. Managing large attachments is not…