MCP server exposing 4 tools for patents.
This URL is a JSON-RPC 2.0 endpoint over HTTP. Issue POST requests with a JSON-RPC body. Browsers and search crawlers land here on GET.
POST https://gateway.pipeworx.io/patents/mcp
Content-Type: application/json
{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"tools/list"}search_patents — Search USPTO patent applications and grants — **without a `granted_after`/`granted_before` bound this returns the APPLICATION corpus sorted newest-FILED-first, not issued patents.** USPTO publishes an application ~18 months after filing and typically takes 2+ years to grant it, so the newest rows in an unfiltered search are always recent, unexamined filings with `grant_date: null` — that is expected, not stale data. **Pick the date field on the QUESTION'S VERB, not on the word "recent":** a question asking who has FILED / applied for / sought patents in a window wants `filed_after`/`filed_before` — the default application corpus already includes pending AND granted patents, so no `granted_after` is needed or wanted, and adding one will silently drop recently-filed-but-not-yet-examined applications (grant lags filing by 2+ years, so "filed in the last 3 years" AND "granted in the last 3 years" are mostly DISJOINT sets). Only use `granted_after`/`granted_before` when the question explicitly says GRANTED / ISSUED / APPROVED / "has a patent" (not just "recent patents"). 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. A curated, short list of known synonym/abbreviation pairs for concepts that patents describe inconsistently (e.g. cfRNA / cell-free RNA / circulating RNA; MRD / minimal residual disease / residual cancer) is recognized in `query` — quoted or bare — and expanded to an OR group before the search runs, so "cfRNA" and "cell-free RNA" are treated as the same concept rather than requiring the caller to guess a specific patent's exact wording (marked `synonyms_expanded: true` in the response; this is a fixed, documented list, not general synonym invention). A question that names several DISTINCT ways of describing the same idea (e.g. a condition plus a detection method, each expressed as its own quoted phrase) should still be passed as one query — if the literal AND-of-everything match returns zero, the tool automatically retries once with those same quoted phrases OR'd together instead and marks the response `broadened: true`; it only ever relaxes multi-phrase AND to OR on a genuine zero, so a search that is narrow for a real reason (e.g. one specific applicant with no matching filings, or an ordinary bare-keyword AND) still correctly returns zero. 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).get_patent — Fetch a single USPTO patent application/grant by application number (e.g., "16/123,456" or "16123456"). Returns full metadata: title, inventors, classifications, status, prosecution events. A returned record with no grant event and no grant date is not stale — it means that specific application has not yet been examined/granted; check `status` and `grant_event` rather than assuming the record is out of date.search_inventors — Search USPTO patent applications by inventor last name. Returns matching applications with title, inventor list, and filing date — sorted newest-filed-first, so this is the APPLICATION corpus (same as search_patents with no `granted_after`), and the newest rows will be unexamined filings with no grant date by construction (USPTO publishes ~18 months after filing). That is expected, not stale data. For a specific inventor's ISSUED patents, use search_patents with `inventor` + `granted_after` instead.get_patent_assignments — Retrieve USPTO-recorded assignment/conveyance history for one patent application from the migrated Open Data Portal endpoint. Returns assignors, assignees, execution/recording dates, conveyance text, and reel/frame. A recorded assignment is notice of a submitted instrument—not a legal opinion on present title, validity, scope, liens, or chain-of-title completeness.Code samples (curl / TypeScript / one-click client install), schemas, and the live playground are on the pack page:
https://pipeworx.io/packs/patents/
Pipeworx is an open MCP gateway connecting AI agents to live data. pipeworx.io