Global Portfolio Positioning
Coordinated U.S. and international patent strategy for companies protecting innovation across multiple jurisdictions
AddyHart's Divergent practice helps U.S. companies develop and manage coordinated international patent portfolios. We combine experienced U.S. patent prosecution with strategic coordination of foreign filings, working with trusted foreign associates to align claim strategy, prosecution decisions, budgets, and business objectives across the global patent family.
International patent protection requires more than filing the same application in multiple countries. We help clients develop jurisdiction-specific strategies that account for differing legal standards, prosecution practices, commercial markets, and enforcement considerations—building global patent portfolios designed to protect valuable technology wherever it is developed, manufactured, licensed, or sold.
Building Patents for a Global Market
A single invention may ultimately be protected in multiple countries, but each patent office applies its own legal standards and examination practices. Requirements for claim support, amendments, inventive step, patent eligibility, divisionals, and prosecution strategy often differ significantly between the United States, Europe, China, Japan, Korea, and other jurisdictions.
These differences make early drafting decisions especially important. We prepare patent applications that support both U.S. prosecution and future international filings by preserving the flexibility needed for foreign associates to pursue commercially valuable claim scope under different legal standards. By considering international requirements from the outset, we help clients reduce unnecessary prosecution costs while building stronger global patent portfolios.
When Global Coordination Matters
International portfolio coordination becomes particularly valuable when:
Preparing a first international filing
Entering the PCT national phase
Expanding into new markets
Managing inventors across multiple countries
Evaluating foreign search results
Coordinating different claim scopes across jurisdictions
Planning continuation or divisional strategies
Preparing for licensing, financing, or enforcement
Responding to changing product roadmaps
Working with international development teams
Early coordination preserves more options than attempting to reconcile national portfolios after significant prosecution decisions have already been made.
Global Portfolio Services
Successful international patent portfolios require more than filing applications in multiple jurisdictions. We help clients coordinate filing strategies, claim development, prosecution decisions, and foreign counsel to build global portfolios aligned with commercial objectives and long-term business growth.
Global Filing Strategy
We help clients determine where patent protection will provide the greatest commercial value by considering product markets, competitors, manufacturing locations, licensing opportunities, enforcement objectives, and overall portfolio costs. Rather than filing everywhere, we develop filing strategies tailored to each client's business goals.
Representative Services
Jurisdiction selection
Filing prioritization
Budget planning
Competitive analysis
International portfolio planning
International Filing & PCT Strategy
International filings involve more than meeting deadlines. We advise clients on first-filing considerations, foreign filing restrictions, PCT strategy, national phase entry, and the choice between U.S. national stage and bypass continuation practice. Our goal is to preserve flexibility while aligning filing decisions with evolving commercial priorities.
Representative Services
Foreign filing restrictions
PCT applications
National phase entry
§ 371 vs. bypass continuation
Filing sequence planning
International Claim & Disclosure Strategy
Different patent offices apply different standards for claim support, amendments, unity, and added matter. We prepare patent applications with coordinated disclosures, fallback positions, and flexible claim strategies that provide foreign associates with meaningful options during prosecution.
Representative Services
Fallback-position planning
Claim architecture
Disclosure strategy
Added-matter planning
Continuation and divisional coordination
Global Prosecution Coordination
Patent prosecution in one country often affects the rest of the patent family. We work with foreign associates to coordinate Office Action responses, claim amendments, prosecution strategy, and portfolio decisions while helping maintain commercially meaningful consistency across jurisdictions.
Representative Services
Office Action coordination
Claim consistency
Foreign associate communication
Portfolio-wide prosecution strategy
Cross-jurisdiction planning
Information & Portfolio Management
Managing an international portfolio requires coordinated handling of references, prosecution history, and related-family information. We help clients establish practical processes for Information Disclosure Statements, foreign search reports, cited references, and cross-family information management.
Representative Services
IDS strategy
Foreign search reports
Cross-family references
Portfolio administration
Information management
Patent-Term & Portfolio Planning
Patent term, examination timing, and continuation practice differ significantly around the world. We help clients evaluate acceleration, deferred examination, continuation strategy, and prosecution timing to support product launches, licensing initiatives, enforcement objectives, and long-term portfolio value.
Representative Services
Patent term strategy
Accelerated examination
Deferred examination
Continuation timing
Portfolio lifecycle planning
Why AddyHart for Global Portfolio Positioning
U.S. Prosecution Experience
International patent strategy begins with a strong U.S. foundation. Our attorneys handle U.S. patent drafting, prosecution, examiner interviews, continuation practice, appeals, reexaminations, and post-grant proceedings, allowing us to evaluate global filing decisions in light of their potential impact on the U.S. portfolio and future enforcement opportunities.
Comparative Patent Insight
Each patent office applies different legal standards, examination practices, and procedural rules. Through Divergent's comparative analysis of U.S., European, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean patent systems, we help clients anticipate jurisdiction-specific issues and develop coordinated strategies that account for those differences from the outset.
Commercially Focused Strategy
A successful international portfolio should support business objectives—not simply increase the number of filings. We help clients prioritize jurisdictions, claim strategies, and portfolio investments based on product markets, manufacturing locations, licensing opportunities, competitive activity, and long-term commercial value.
Coordinated Global Counsel
We work closely with clients' existing foreign associates and respect the role of local counsel in advising on jurisdiction-specific law and practice. Our role is to coordinate the global portfolio, identify cross-jurisdictional issues, and ensure that filing decisions, prosecution strategies, and claim development remain aligned with the client's broader business objectives.
Prosecution Informed by Patent Disputes
Patent prosecution decisions can have lasting consequences beyond examination. Our experience with PTAB appeals, inter partes review, ex parte reexamination, and patent disputes helps us evaluate how claim amendments, prosecution arguments, and disclosure strategies may affect future licensing, enforcement, and post-grant proceedings before those positions become part of the public record.
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Get In Touch
Whether you are developing a new patent portfolio, transferring existing prosecution work, preparing for a product launch, or responding to a challenge against an issued patent, we would welcome the opportunity to discuss your objectives.
Please do not include confidential information in an initial inquiry. An attorney-client relationship is formed only through a written engagement agreement.