This post is the third in our three-part series, Gearing Up for HTLH USA 2025, where our team of attorneys will share insights on intellectual property, equity, and exit strategies and how these issues intersect in the transactional context.
HLTH USA is a whirlwind—partnering, investor meetings, and press all compressed into a few fast-moving days. That intensity can be great, but it can also be risky for protecting and maximizing the value of your intellectual property. In the rush to network, pitch, and show off your innovation, it is easy to jeopardize your patent or trade secret rights by disclosing too much detail in a conversation or showing more than you should at your booth.
As HLTH approaches, it is worth pausing to consider how a thoughtful IP strategy can protect your company’s most valuable assets not only during HLTH itself, but long afterward.
Capturing innovation is just as important as protecting it. A simple invention disclosure form — recording the technical problem, your solution, key data, and alternative embodiments — can become the backbone of a provisional patent filing. Filing quickly, before public disclosures, is critical. But speed shouldn’t come at the expense of substance. A well-prepared provisional application, rich with enabling detail and variations, buys you time to refine claims and sequence international filings. Resist the temptation to file a “skeleton” provisional unless you have no other option.
In medtech and life sciences, it is often valuable to cover not just the device or system, but also methods of use (including physician workflows), manufacturing or assay methods, and the software or algorithms that deliver a concrete technical improvement. Enabling disclosure for a variety of embodiments can make all the difference when it comes to enforcement or licensing down the road.
Patent Prosecution Strategy
For startups especially, every dollar counts—and patent prosecution can quickly become a significant expense. But a smart strategy can help you protect your core innovations without breaking the bank.
The first step to consider is whether it is worth pursuing patent protection for a particular idea. Not every idea needs a patent, and not every patent needs to be filed everywhere. Thankfully, the “where” question can be determined later, as filing in multiple jurisdictions gets expensive quickly. Instead, focus your resources on the inventions that are most closely tied to your business objectives and commercial roadmap. Ask yourself: What technology is truly core to your value proposition? What will investors or acquirers care about most? By concentrating on these high-impact assets, you can avoid spreading your precious capital too thin.
Before filing, it may be useful to invest in a targeted technology landscape search. This isn’t just about finding prior art—it’s about understanding the competitive and patent terrain around your innovation. A well-executed landscape search can reveal crowded fields, identify whitespace, and help you draft stronger, more focused claims. For many startups, this step also informs business strategy, highlighting where to differentiate and where to partner or license.
For early-stage companies, a well-prepared provisional application is often the most cost-effective way to secure an early filing date. This gives you a 12-month window to refine your invention, test the market, and seek funding before committing to the full expense of a non-provisional and/or international filings.
One you’ve filed a patent application, efficiency is key. The “negotiation” of office actions and responding to them is one place where patent costs can spiral. Work closely with your patent counsel to develop a response strategy that minimizes unnecessary rounds of back-and-forth. Examiner interviews, for example, can often resolve issues more quickly and efficiently than written responses alone. Our experience is that proactively engaging with examiners tends to achieve faster, more cost-effective outcomes.
The bottom line: Patent prosecution is a negotiation, not a paperwork exercise. With a focused approach, startups can build strong, defensible portfolios—without burning through limited resources.
Best Practices to Protect Your IP Rights
Building excitement and seeking investment in your company is as much about sharing as it is about protecting. The best-prepared teams prepare two pitch decks: a non-confidential version that avoids disclosing enabling technical detail, and a “confidential” deck reserved for NDA settings. NDAs are important for detailed, technical discussions. However, they are not always necessary and may actually be an early turn-off to a potential partner who’s interest may otherwise be piqued by a high level, non-confidential explanation of your company’s vision.
Global patent rights can hinge on what you say—or don’t say—to people outside your company. It is important to remember that although the U.S. offers a one-year grace period after public disclosures to file for patent protection, many other jurisdictions do not. As such, a public demo or offer for sale risks compromising foreign rights.
Investors and partners expect deal readiness. Having a preliminary freedom-to-operate scan and a technology landscape demonstrate that you understand the competitive and patent terrain in your technology area. Identify blocking claims, potential design-arounds, and where licensing could accelerate your market entry. Keep your chain of title clean—have signed assignments, contractor agreements, and any license documents should be organized and accessible.
Trade secrets are increasingly important, especially for software-enabled devices and AI. Document what you treat as a trade secret, who can access it, and how you protect it.
Brand protection is another pillar. Run trademark clearance before you invest in a trademark by printing booth signage, obtaining a domain, etc. Avoid descriptive or common scientific terms for your trademark because those terms will be hard to protect and enforce. If it is necessary to use a term to describe the competition’s goods/services, that term is probably not protectable/enforceable. Consistent use and proper symbols (TM vs. ®) further enhance trademark enforceability.
At the end of the day, investors reward teams that can tell a compelling story and show they can protect, partner, and scale. A thoughtful IP posture—rightsized to your stage—preserves global rights, smooths diligence, and creates leverage at the negotiating table.
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