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Searches patents and trademarks via USPTO APIs, retrieves examination history (PEDS), assignments, citations, office actions, and trademark status (TSDR). Use for prior art searches, IP analysis, and portfolio tracking.
How this skill is triggered — by the user, by Claude, or both
Slash command
/alterlab-writing-tools:alterlab-usptoThis skill is limited to the following tools:
The summary Claude sees in its skill listing — used to decide when to auto-load this skill
USPTO provides specialized APIs for patent and trademark data. Search patents by keywords/inventors/assignees, retrieve examination history via PEDS, track assignments, analyze citations and office actions, access TSDR for trademarks, for IP analysis and prior art searches.
USPTO provides specialized APIs for patent and trademark data. Search patents by keywords/inventors/assignees, retrieve examination history via PEDS, track assignments, analyze citations and office actions, access TSDR for trademarks, for IP analysis and prior art searches.
This skill should be used when:
The USPTO provides multiple specialized APIs for different data needs:
PatentSearch API - Modern ElasticSearch-based patent search (replaced legacy PatentsView in May 2025)
https://search.patentsview.org/api/v1/PEDS (Patent Examination Data System) - Patent examination history
uspto-opendata-python Python libraryTSDR (Trademark Status & Document Retrieval) - Trademark data
https://tsdrapi.uspto.gov/ts/cd/USPTO APIs require an API key. Register at: https://account.uspto.gov/api-manager/
API key for PatentSearch API is provided by PatentsView. Register at: https://patentsview.org/api-v01-information-page
Set the API key as an environment variable:
export USPTO_API_KEY="your_api_key_here"
export PATENTSVIEW_API_KEY="you_api_key_here"
This skill includes Python scripts for common operations:
scripts/patent_search.py - PatentSearch API client for searching patentsscripts/peds_client.py - PEDS client for examination historyscripts/trademark_client.py - TSDR client for trademark dataThe PatentSearch API uses a JSON query language with various operators for flexible searching.
Search by keywords in abstract:
from scripts.patent_search import PatentSearchClient
client = PatentSearchClient()
# Search for machine learning patents
results = client.search_patents({
"_text_all": {"patent_abstract": "machine learning"}
})
for patent in results['patents']:
print(f"{patent['patent_number']}: {patent['patent_title']}")
Search by inventor:
results = client.search_by_inventor("John Smith")
Search by assignee/company:
results = client.search_by_assignee("Google")
Search by date range:
results = client.search_by_date_range("2024-01-01", "2024-12-31")
Search by CPC classification:
results = client.search_by_classification("H04N") # Video/image tech
Combine multiple criteria with logical operators:
results = client.advanced_search(
keywords=["artificial", "intelligence"],
assignee="Microsoft",
start_date="2023-01-01",
end_date="2024-12-31",
cpc_codes=["G06N", "G06F"] # AI and computing classifications
)
For complex queries, use the API directly:
import requests
url = "https://search.patentsview.org/api/v1/patent"
headers = {
"X-Api-Key": "YOUR_API_KEY",
"Content-Type": "application/json"
}
query = {
"q": {
"_and": [
{"patent_date": {"_gte": "2024-01-01"}},
{"assignee_organization": {"_text_any": ["Google", "Alphabet"]}},
{"cpc_subclass_id": ["G06N", "H04N"]}
]
},
"f": ["patent_number", "patent_title", "patent_date", "inventor_name"],
"s": [{"patent_date": "desc"}],
"o": {"per_page": 100, "page": 1}
}
response = requests.post(url, headers=headers, json=query)
results = response.json()
{"field": "value"} or {"field": {"_eq": "value"}}_gt, _gte, _lt, _lte, _neq_text_all, _text_any, _text_phrase_begins, _contains_and, _or, _notBest Practice: Use _text_* operators for text fields (more performant than _contains or _begins)
/patent - Granted patents/publication - Pregrant publications/inventor - Inventor information/assignee - Assignee information/cpc_subclass, /cpc_at_issue - CPC classifications/uspc - US Patent Classification/ipc - International Patent Classification/claims, /brief_summary_text, /detail_description_text - Text data (beta)See references/patentsearch_api.md for complete PatentSearch API documentation including:
PEDS provides comprehensive prosecution history including transaction events, status changes, and examination timeline.
uv pip install uspto-opendata-python
Get application data:
from scripts.peds_client import PEDSHelper
helper = PEDSHelper()
# By application number
app_data = helper.get_application("16123456")
print(f"Title: {app_data['title']}")
print(f"Status: {app_data['app_status']}")
# By patent number
patent_data = helper.get_patent("11234567")
Get transaction history:
transactions = helper.get_transaction_history("16123456")
for trans in transactions:
print(f"{trans['date']}: {trans['code']} - {trans['description']}")
Get office actions:
office_actions = helper.get_office_actions("16123456")
for oa in office_actions:
if oa['code'] == 'CTNF':
print(f"Non-final rejection: {oa['date']}")
elif oa['code'] == 'CTFR':
print(f"Final rejection: {oa['date']}")
elif oa['code'] == 'NOA':
print(f"Notice of allowance: {oa['date']}")
Get status summary:
summary = helper.get_status_summary("16123456")
print(f"Current status: {summary['current_status']}")
print(f"Filing date: {summary['filing_date']}")
print(f"Pendency: {summary['pendency_days']} days")
if summary['is_patented']:
print(f"Patent number: {summary['patent_number']}")
print(f"Issue date: {summary['issue_date']}")
Analyze prosecution patterns:
analysis = helper.analyze_prosecution("16123456")
print(f"Total office actions: {analysis['total_office_actions']}")
print(f"Non-final rejections: {analysis['non_final_rejections']}")
print(f"Final rejections: {analysis['final_rejections']}")
print(f"Allowed: {analysis['allowance']}")
print(f"Responses filed: {analysis['responses']}")
See references/peds_api.md for complete PEDS documentation including:
Access trademark status, ownership, and prosecution history.
Get trademark by serial number:
from scripts.trademark_client import TrademarkClient
client = TrademarkClient()
# By serial number
tm_data = client.get_trademark_by_serial("87654321")
# By registration number
tm_data = client.get_trademark_by_registration("5678901")
Get trademark status:
status = client.get_trademark_status("87654321")
print(f"Mark: {status['mark_text']}")
print(f"Status: {status['status']}")
print(f"Filing date: {status['filing_date']}")
if status['is_registered']:
print(f"Registration #: {status['registration_number']}")
print(f"Registration date: {status['registration_date']}")
Check trademark health:
health = client.check_trademark_health("87654321")
print(f"Mark: {health['mark']}")
print(f"Status: {health['status']}")
for alert in health['alerts']:
print(alert)
if health['needs_attention']:
print("⚠️ This mark needs attention!")
Monitor multiple trademarks:
def monitor_portfolio(serial_numbers, api_key):
"""Monitor trademark portfolio health."""
client = TrademarkClient(api_key)
results = {
'active': [],
'pending': [],
'problems': []
}
for sn in serial_numbers:
health = client.check_trademark_health(sn)
if 'REGISTERED' in health['status']:
results['active'].append(health)
elif 'PENDING' in health['status'] or 'PUBLISHED' in health['status']:
results['pending'].append(health)
elif health['needs_attention']:
results['problems'].append(health)
return results
See references/trademark_api.md for complete trademark API documentation including:
Both patents and trademarks have Assignment Search APIs for tracking ownership changes.
Base URL: https://assignment-api.uspto.gov/patent/v1.4/
Search by patent number:
import requests
import xml.etree.ElementTree as ET
def get_patent_assignments(patent_number, api_key):
url = f"https://assignment-api.uspto.gov/patent/v1.4/assignment/patent/{patent_number}"
headers = {"X-Api-Key": api_key}
response = requests.get(url, headers=headers)
if response.status_code == 200:
return response.text # Returns XML
assignments_xml = get_patent_assignments("11234567", api_key)
root = ET.fromstring(assignments_xml)
for assignment in root.findall('.//assignment'):
recorded_date = assignment.find('recordedDate').text
assignor = assignment.find('.//assignor/name').text
assignee = assignment.find('.//assignee/name').text
conveyance = assignment.find('conveyanceText').text
print(f"{recorded_date}: {assignor} → {assignee}")
print(f" Type: {conveyance}\n")
Search by company name:
def find_company_patents(company_name, api_key):
url = "https://assignment-api.uspto.gov/patent/v1.4/assignment/search"
headers = {"X-Api-Key": api_key}
data = {"criteria": {"assigneeName": company_name}}
response = requests.post(url, headers=headers, json=data)
return response.text
Multiple specialized APIs provide additional patent data.
Retrieve full text of office actions using application number. Integrate with PEDS to identify which office actions exist, then retrieve full text.
Analyze patent citations:
Access federal district court patent litigation records:
Patent Trial and Appeal Board proceedings:
See references/additional_apis.md for comprehensive documentation on:
Combine multiple APIs for complete patent intelligence:
def comprehensive_patent_analysis(patent_number, api_key):
"""
Full patent analysis using multiple USPTO APIs.
"""
from scripts.patent_search import PatentSearchClient
from scripts.peds_client import PEDSHelper
results = {}
# 1. Get patent details
patent_client = PatentSearchClient(api_key)
patent_data = patent_client.get_patent(patent_number)
results['patent'] = patent_data
# 2. Get examination history
peds = PEDSHelper()
results['prosecution'] = peds.analyze_prosecution(patent_number)
results['status'] = peds.get_status_summary(patent_number)
# 3. Get assignment history
import requests
assign_url = f"https://assignment-api.uspto.gov/patent/v1.4/assignment/patent/{patent_number}"
assign_resp = requests.get(assign_url, headers={"X-Api-Key": api_key})
results['assignments'] = assign_resp.text if assign_resp.status_code == 200 else None
# 4. Analyze results
print(f"\n=== Patent {patent_number} Analysis ===\n")
print(f"Title: {patent_data['patent_title']}")
print(f"Assignee: {', '.join(patent_data.get('assignee_organization', []))}")
print(f"Issue Date: {patent_data['patent_date']}")
print(f"\nProsecution:")
print(f" Office Actions: {results['prosecution']['total_office_actions']}")
print(f" Rejections: {results['prosecution']['non_final_rejections']} non-final, {results['prosecution']['final_rejections']} final")
print(f" Pendency: {results['prosecution']['pendency_days']} days")
# Analyze citations
if 'cited_patent_number' in patent_data:
print(f"\nCitations:")
print(f" Cites: {len(patent_data['cited_patent_number'])} patents")
if 'citedby_patent_number' in patent_data:
print(f" Cited by: {len(patent_data['citedby_patent_number'])} patents")
return results
API Key Management
Rate Limiting
Query Optimization
_text_* operators for text fields (more performant)Data Handling
Combining APIs
search.patentsview.org/docs/ host is being retired as part of the USPTO Open Data Portal (ODP) consolidation; consult this page for the migration path and current endpoint references.references/patentsearch_api.md - Complete PatentSearch API referencereferences/peds_api.md - PEDS API and library documentationreferences/trademark_api.md - Trademark APIs (TSDR and Assignment)references/additional_apis.md - Citations, Office Actions, Litigation, PTABscripts/patent_search.py - PatentSearch API clientscripts/peds_client.py - PEDS examination data clientscripts/trademark_client.py - Trademark search clientnpx claudepluginhub alterlab-ieu/alterlab-academic-skills --plugin alterlab-visualizationAccess USPTO APIs for patent/trademark searches, examination history, assignments, citations, and office actions. Useful for IP analysis and prior art searches.
Searches USPTO patent and trademark records from official APIs including PatentSearch, TSDR, and assignment databases.
Queries official USPTO patent and trademark records via PatentSearch, TSDR, assignment data, and file wrapper APIs. Builds reproducible IP research logs with source attribution.