If you plan to partner and/or license your inventions this is most important. You'll want your patents to be bulletproof. Few if any major companies will want to license or partner with you if your patents are vulnerable to being designed around.
Products falling under an umbrella of patents are usually more invincible and will be looked upon more favorably by licensees and partners. If your invention represents a breakthrough opportunity, you'll want to make sure you have substantial patent protection.
Bulletproof patents begin with the right patent strategy. It begins with writing patent applications that have broad, yet specific claim coverage. You must learn about patents, the different types of utility patent coverage you get--for instance, products, systems and processes--and include all aspects and all inventive elements. It doesn't have to cost a lot of money to get started and get a patent application filed. Learn more about how you can write your own provisional patent application and save thousands of dollars.
One of the greatest errors a company or independent product developer can make is to not have a viable patent strategy. Without one...you stand to waste a lot of time and money, only to allow competitors to enter your marketplace and take over. Is that is what you want?
There are four basic methodologies used to build broad patent protection around your inventions. Some of them include securing multiple patents, others include securing only a single one.
Depending upon your technology and finances, you'll want to ensure that you have carefully selected and applied the principles in one of these four methodologies. Explained in detail in Essentials of Patents, you have a choice of using the shotgun approach, the castle and moat theory, cutting the forest, or patent-as-you-go. Be assured, you better clearly understand your patenting objectives and your strategy, else you may end out with a worthless portfolio!