`search_patents`

Pack: patents · Endpoint: https://gateway.pipeworx.io/patents/mcp

Search USPTO patent applications and grants. Use query for free-text keywords (“lithium battery”, “crispr”, “machine learning”); all terms are required (AND), and you can quote a phrase to keep it together. Optional structured filters: applicant (exact corporate name as filed, e.g. “APPLE INC.”), inventor (person name), title (words in the invention title), number (a specific application number), filed_after / filed_before, granted_after / granted_before. Common synonyms are understood — assignee, company and owner all reach applicant, and keywords, q or text all reach query. Results include title, application number, filing date, first applicant, all applicants, inventors, status, classification. total is the full match count but USPTO returns at most 25 records per search — narrow with applicant or a date range rather than raising limit. Powered by the USPTO Open Data Portal (data.uspto.gov).

Parameters

Name	Type	Required	Description
`query`	string	no	Free-text keywords. Every term must appear (they are AND-ed), so add words to narrow and remove words to widen. Wrap words in double quotes to require them adjacent: `"machine learning" model` needs the exact phrase plus the word model. Examples: “lithium battery”, “crispr”, “neural network”. Pass ”*” if you only want to filter by applicant/date with no keyword constraint.
`applicant`	string	no	Optional. Company applicant name as it appears on the USPTO filing. Must include the exact corporate suffix the company uses (PBC / Inc. / LLC / Corporation / Co. / NV / AG / KK). A wrong or missing suffix matches nothing — “Apple” returns zero where “APPLE INC.” returns hundreds. Examples: “Anthropic, PBC” (not “Anthropic Inc.”), “Apple Inc.” (not “Apple”), “Alphabet Inc.” (not “Google”), “Meta Platforms, Inc.” (not “Facebook”), “Microsoft Corporation” (not “Microsoft Corp.”). If you get zero results plus a `warning` field, the name form is wrong rather than the company being absent — retry with a different corporate form.
`inventor`	string	no	Optional. Inventor name as recorded on the filing; a last name matches most reliably. Examples: “Hinton”, “Bengio”. Accepted synonyms: `inventor_name`, `author`.
`title`	string	no	Optional. Words that must appear in the invention title, which narrows far harder than `query` does since `query` searches the whole record. Example: “solid state battery”.
`number`	string	no	Optional. A specific US application number, digits only or formatted — “16123456” or “16/123,456”. Accepted synonyms: `application_number`, `patent_number`.
`filed_after`	string	no	Optional. Filter to patents filed on/after this date (ISO YYYY-MM-DD).
`filed_before`	string	no	Optional. Filter to patents filed on/before this date (ISO YYYY-MM-DD).
`granted_after`	string	no	Optional. Filter to patents granted on/after this date (ISO YYYY-MM-DD).
`granted_before`	string	no	Optional. Filter to patents granted on/before this date (ISO YYYY-MM-DD).
`limit`	number	no	Number of results to return (default 10). USPTO caps every search at 25 records, so values above 25 have no effect — use the filters to narrow instead.
`_apiKey`	string	no	USPTO ODP API key. Get free at https://data.uspto.gov/myodp. Falls back to platform key if configured.

Example call

Arguments

{
  "query": "machine learning neural networks"
}

curl

curl -X POST https://gateway.pipeworx.io/patents/mcp \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"tools/call","params":{"name":"search_patents","arguments":{"query":"machine learning neural networks"}}}'

TypeScript (@pipeworx/sdk)

import { Pipeworx } from '@pipeworx/sdk';
const pipeworx = new Pipeworx();

const result = await pipeworx.call('search_patents', {
  "query": "machine learning neural networks"
});

More examples

{
  "query": "blockchain cryptocurrency"
}

{
  "applicant": "APPLE INC."
}

{
  "query": "neural",
  "inventor": "Hinton"
}

Response shape

Always returns: query, filters, total, returned, results, patents

Field	Type	Description
`query`	string	The composed ODP query string actually sent
`filters`	object	Echo of the structured filters applied; each is null when unused
`total`	number	Total number of matching applications (USPTO ODP returns at most 25 records per search regardless of limit)
`returned`	number	Number of records in this response
`note`	string	Present when total exceeds the returned records — explains the 25-record ODP page cap
`warning`	string	Present when an applicant filter matched nothing — ODP matches the corporate name literally (“APPLE INC.” not “Apple”)
`results`	array	Back-compat summary shape (title, number, dates, applicant)
`patents`	array	Same records with full ODP fields

Full JSON Schema

{
  "type": "object",
  "properties": {
    "query": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "The composed ODP query string actually sent"
    },
    "filters": {
      "type": "object",
      "description": "Echo of the structured filters applied; each is null when unused",
      "properties": {
        "applicant": {
          "type": [
            "string",
            "null"
          ]
        },
        "filed_after": {
          "type": [
            "string",
            "null"
          ]
        },
        "filed_before": {
          "type": [
            "string",
            "null"
          ]
        },
        "granted_after": {
          "type": [
            "string",
            "null"
          ]
        },
        "granted_before": {
          "type": [
            "string",
            "null"
          ]
        }
      }
    },
    "total": {
      "type": "number",
      "description": "Total number of matching applications (USPTO ODP returns at most 25 records per search regardless of limit)"
    },
    "returned": {
      "type": "number",
      "description": "Number of records in this response"
    },
    "note": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "Present when total exceeds the returned records — explains the 25-record ODP page cap"
    },
    "warning": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "Present when an applicant filter matched nothing — ODP matches the corporate name literally (\"APPLE INC.\" not \"Apple\")"
    },
    "results": {
      "type": "array",
      "description": "Back-compat summary shape (title, number, dates, applicant)",
      "items": {
        "type": "object"
      }
    },
    "patents": {
      "type": "array",
      "description": "Same records with full ODP fields",
      "items": {
        "type": "object",
        "properties": {
          "patent_number": {
            "type": "string",
            "description": "Patent number"
          },
          "title": {
            "type": "string",
            "description": "Patent title"
          },
          "date": {
            "type": [
              "string",
              "null"
            ],
            "description": "Patent filing date or null"
          },
          "inventors": {
            "type": "array",
            "description": "List of inventors",
            "items": {
              "type": "object",
              "properties": {
                "first_name": {
                  "type": [
                    "string",
                    "null"
                  ],
                  "description": "Inventor first name or null"
                },
                "last_name": {
                  "type": [
                    "string",
                    "null"
                  ],
                  "description": "Inventor last name or null"
                }
              }
            }
          },
          "assignee_organization": {
            "type": [
              "string",
              "null"
            ],
            "description": "Assignee organization name or null"
          }
        },
        "required": [
          "patent_number",
          "title",
          "date",
          "inventors",
          "assignee_organization"
        ]
      }
    }
  },
  "required": [
    "query",
    "filters",
    "total",
    "returned",
    "results",
    "patents"
  ]
}

Connect

Add this to your MCP client config, or use one-click install buttons:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "patents": {
      "url": "https://gateway.pipeworx.io/patents/mcp"
    }
  }
}

See Getting Started for client-specific install steps.

search_patents