IP Strategy & Process Design

Every engagement begins the same way: with a frank conversation about budget, objectives, and deliverables. We define both clearly before any work begins. No surprises on scope, no invoices that catch you off guard.

Once we understand where you are and where you're going — whether that means building a portfolio to satisfy Series B investors, establishing a domestic filing program, or pursuing worldwide protection — we embed with your organization as your IP function.

We begin with education. Most engineers have never been through a patent program before. We meet with your engineering team — weekly, in person or by video — to explain the history and purpose of patents, how our process works, and how their contributions shape the company's IP position. With each new engineer who joins, we have that conversation again.

Before a single invention disclosure is filed, we review your employment agreements, contractor agreements, NDAs, and confidentiality agreements — making sure no inventor inadvertently compromises the company's IP position.

We design and implement the invention disclosure process, establish the review and approval infrastructure, and train your team to evaluate and rank inventions according to your strategy and budget. We help establish ranking criteria tied directly to your technology direction, competitive landscape, and investment objectives.

A patent program that loses engineer participation loses its engine. We own the communication — delivering preparation timelines well in advance, keeping engineers informed throughout prosecution. We help companies establish patent award programs, recognition structures, and incentive programs that give engineers a tangible stake in the IP they create. Throughout the engagement, we work closely with management and investors to document portfolio progress, costs, and outcomes.

Patent Prosecution

We manage the full preparation and prosecution process before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, coordinating with foreign counsel where needed. Our attorneys and agents handle office actions, examiner interviews, amendments, and appeals with an emphasis on efficient, business-oriented outcomes.

We keep clients informed at every step — with regular portfolio status reports, strategic conversations about continuation opportunities, and ongoing analysis of how to maximize portfolio value while minimizing cost. Where multiple related inventions share a common specification, we structure filings to amortize costs across them — more patents, less spend per patent. A significant portion of our applications are allowed on the first office action.

Portfolio Maintenance

We monitor dockets, maintenance deadlines, and portfolio health — but maintenance at HLG is an active process, not a passive one. We regularly review allowed patents for continuation opportunities, advise on pruning and strategic renewals, and keep your portfolio aligned with where your products and roadmap are actually going.

For patents filed across multiple countries, we mandate single-point prosecution — the same attorney who wrote and prosecuted the US application manages it in every jurisdiction. This ensures that claim scope and prosecution arguments remain consistent across all family members, protecting the integrity of the portfolio across borders.

Administrative Services

We handle all post-issuance matters — domestic and foreign docketing, maintenance fees, annuity payments, and regular portfolio reporting on whatever cadence works for your team: monthly, quarterly, or annual.

Every patent attorney ever hired by Huffman Law Group is still here. The attorney who drafted your patent handles its post-issuance analysis and is available for pre-litigation review years later. No handoffs, no institutional memory lost to turnover. Every matter ever handled by HLG lives in our secure, paperless online repository — immediately accessible, fully indexed, and never lost. Thirty years of work, one search away.