1. Broad Claim Scope is Key. Merely getting a patent is not the goal. The goal is to maximize the scope of meaningful patent protection to which your invention is entitled. Put yourself in a competitor’s shoes - how would you design around the claims in your patent application? If you can design around them with a practical solution, plug the hole. Sometimes maximum scope is best obtained in pieces, by taking scope allowed by the USPTO and then filing one or more continuation or divisional applications to obtain the remainder.