SKILL.md
USPTO Database
Use this skill when a task needs official United States patent or trademark
records from USPTO systems.
When to Use
- Searching granted patents or pre-grant publications.
- Checking patent application status, file-wrapper data, assignments, or
public prosecution history.
- Looking up trademark status, documents, or assignment history.
- Building reproducible prior-art, portfolio, or IP landscape research logs.
- Comparing USPTO records with secondary tools such as Google Patents,
Lens.org, Semantic Scholar, or company patent pages.
Do not use this skill to give legal advice. Treat it as a data-gathering and
record-verification workflow.
Source Selection
Prefer official USPTO or USPTO-supported surfaces first:
- Open Data Portal (ODP): current home for migrated USPTO datasets and APIs.
- Patent File Wrapper: public patent application bibliographic data and file
wrapper records.
- PatentSearch API: PatentsView search API for granted patents and pre-grant
publication datasets.
- TSDR Data API: trademark status and document retrieval.
- Patent and Trademark Assignment Search: ownership transfer records.
- PTAB data in ODP: Patent Trial and Appeal Board proceedings.
Use secondary sources only as convenience indexes. When the answer matters,
cross-check the official record.
Authentication and Secrets
Many USPTO API flows require an API key. Store keys in environment variables or
a secret manager, never in committed files or pasted transcripts.
Common environment names:
export USPTO_API_KEY="..."
export PATENTSVIEW_API_KEY="..."For PatentSearch, send the key with the X-Api-Key header. For TSDR, follow
the current USPTO API Manager instructions and rate-limit guidance.
PatentSearch Workflow
Use PatentSearch for broad patent and pre-grant publication search when the
question is about trends, inventors, assignees, classifications, dates, or
portfolio slices.
Workflow:
- Identify the endpoint from the current PatentSearch reference or Swagger UI.
- Build a JSON query with explicit filters.
- Request only the fields needed for the analysis.
- Sort and paginate deterministically.
- Record the endpoint, query body, date, data currency note, and result count.
Python request skeleton:
import os
import requests
API_KEY = os.environ["PATENTSVIEW_API_KEY"]
BASE = "https://search.patentsview.org/api/v1"
payload = {
"q": {
"_and": [
{"patent_date": {"_gte": "2024-01-01"}},
{"assignees.assignee_organization": {"_text_any": ["Google", "Alphabet"]}},
]
},
"f": ["patent_id", "patent_title", "patent_date"],
"s": [{"patent_date": "desc"}],
"o": {"per_page": 100, "page": 1},
}
response = requests.post(
f"{BASE}/patent/",
headers={"X-Api-Key": API_KEY, "Content-Type": "application/json"},
json=payload,
timeout=30,
)
response.raise_for_status()
print(response.json())Before reusing a query, verify current endpoint names, field paths, request
parameters, and API-key availability in the live PatentSearch docs.
Trademark/TSDR Workflow
Use TSDR when the task needs trademark case status, documents, images, owner
history, or prosecution events.
Workflow:
- Normalize the serial number or registration number.
- Check the current TSDR API instructions and required API-key header.
- Fetch status first, then documents only if needed.
- Respect the lower rate limit for PDF, ZIP, and multi-case downloads.
- Capture retrieval date and serial/registration identifier in the output.
For large trademark pulls, prefer documented bulk-data flows rather than
screen-scraping public pages.
File Wrapper and Prosecution History
For application status, transaction history, and prosecution documents:
- Start with ODP Patent File Wrapper search.
- Use exact identifiers when available: application number, publication number,
patent number, or party name.
- Record whether the record is a granted patent, pre-grant publication, or
pending application.
- Cross-check document dates and status against the record detail page before
citing them.
Assignment Workflow
For patent or trademark ownership:
- Search official assignment data by patent/application/registration number,
assignor, assignee, or reel/frame when available.
- Record conveyance text, execution date, recordation date, and parties.
- Distinguish assignment records from current legal ownership conclusions.
- If ownership is material, flag the result for attorney or subject-matter
review.
Reproducible Output
Every USPTO research pass should include a log table:
| Source | Date searched | Identifier/query | Filters | Results | Notes |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | ---: | --- |
| PatentSearch | 2026-05-11 | `assignee=Alphabet AND date>=2024` | patent endpoint | 118 | API docs checked before run |
| TSDR | 2026-05-11 | `serial=90000000` | status only | 1 | API-key flow, no document bulk pull |For final writeups, separate:
- official record facts
- inferred analysis
- secondary-source convenience matches
- unresolved gaps or records that require legal review
Review Checklist
- Did you use an official USPTO or USPTO-supported source first?
- Did you verify current endpoint and field names before running code?
- Are API keys kept out of files, shell history, and output logs?
- Does the query log include the date searched and exact request shape?
- Are rate limits respected?
- Are legal conclusions avoided or explicitly escalated?
- Are secondary sources labeled as secondary?