Original Misconceptions: 1. Picket Fence

Right off, when you create a "Picket Fence" you can expand your monopoly. OK, sure that's the ticket. Getting the picket fence, well that's where the misconceptions can creep in.

If you think you can do it in one master stroke, with a bible patent that covers all the Preferred Embodiments of your invention, it may prove to be a walk into the tulip patches.

First, if your application has MORE THAN ONE INVENTION in it, and your preferred embodiment passes all the rules for allowance, then at the time of publishing, they are going to MAKE you pick an invention. A patent can only cover one invention. So if the set of P-E's can be seen as different inventions (per your CLAIM sets), then you will have to divide at the time of publishing in order to keep "the others".

If you go this route, then the "20 year" time clock starts clicking on all the embodiments, and they will all be shown as well. Further, if there is any reason that the first patent "falls", the risk of the rest falling is higher. Think of this as a storm force wind that blows the fence over all at one time.

On the other hand, it you can sort out your P-E's, know which product should appear first as a must-have hook, and keep the other inventions as TRADE SECRETS until you are ready to file on them...

then if you can establish them as independent inventions that aren't rendered obvious by your own prior art (your first patent), you can start the 20 year clock with EACH ONE in sequence, and create a picket fence that in fact is more like a set of dominoes, separated far enough from each other so that if one falls, it DOESN'T KNOCK DOWN any of the others...now that's a picket fence you can use to keep the fox away.