`get_patent`

Pack: patents · Connect: https://pipeworx.io/mcp (see Connect below for a single-pack URL)

No MCP client? Call it directly: GET https://gateway.pipeworx.io/v1/tools/get_patent for the schema, then POST the same URL with its arguments for the data.

Fetch a single USPTO patent application/grant by application number (number, e.g. “16/123,456” or “16123456”) or by an already-granted patent number (patent_number, e.g. “11646472”) — pass whichever one you actually have. Returns full metadata: title, inventors, classifications, status, and — when the application has been granted — patent_number, grant_date, publication_number, publication_date. 8-digit application numbers and 8-digit patent numbers can be the SAME digit string for a different record (application series codes 10-12 were used ~2003-2008, and granted patent numbers entered that same 10,000,000-12,999,999 range in 2018 and are still in it) — e.g. “11646472” is BOTH application 11/646,472 (a 2006 filing) AND patent 11,646,472 (a 2023 grant), two unrelated inventions. If you only pass number and it is an 8-digit value in that collision range, this tool checks BOTH interpretations; if both exist, it returns ambiguous: true with each record summarized rather than silently guessing — re-call with number for the application or patent_number for the patent. Passing patent_number explicitly always skips the ambiguity check. A status of “Patented Case” with patent_number: null means USPTO ODP omitted that field for this record (check patent_number_warning), not that the patent was never granted; a pending application correctly has patent_number: null, grant_date: null.

Parameters

Name	Type	Required	Description
`number`	string	no	An application number, digits only or with slashes (e.g. “16123456”, “16/123,456”). If this happens to also be a valid 8-digit granted patent number (see the collision note above), the response may come back `ambiguous: true` — pass `patent_number` instead to mean the patent unambiguously.
`patent_number`	string	no	An already-granted US patent number, digits only (e.g. “11646472”, “10000000”). Use this instead of `number` whenever you specifically mean the patent, not the application — it is never ambiguous.
`_apiKey`	string	no	USPTO ODP API key. Get free at https://data.uspto.gov/myodp.

Example call

Arguments

{
  "number": "16123456"
}

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":"get_patent","arguments":{"number":"16123456"}}}'

TypeScript (@pipeworx/sdk)

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

const result = await pipeworx.call('get_patent', {
  "number": "16123456"
});

More examples

{
  "patent_number": "11646472"
}

Response shape

Full JSON Schema

{
  "type": "object",
  "oneOf": [
    {
      "type": "object",
      "properties": {
        "patent_number": {
          "type": "string",
          "description": "Patent number"
        },
        "title": {
          "type": "string",
          "description": "Patent title"
        },
        "abstract": {
          "type": [
            "string",
            "null"
          ],
          "description": "Patent abstract or null"
        },
        "date": {
          "type": [
            "string",
            "null"
          ],
          "description": "Patent filing date or null"
        },
        "type": {
          "type": [
            "string",
            "null"
          ],
          "description": "Patent type or null"
        },
        "inventors": {
          "type": "array",
          "description": "List of inventors with details",
          "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"
              },
              "city": {
                "type": [
                  "string",
                  "null"
                ],
                "description": "Inventor city or null"
              },
              "state": {
                "type": [
                  "string",
                  "null"
                ],
                "description": "Inventor state or null"
              }
            }
          }
        },
        "assignee_organization": {
          "type": [
            "string",
            "null"
          ],
          "description": "Assignee organization name or null"
        },
        "found": {
          "type": "boolean",
          "enum": [
            true
          ],
          "description": "Present and true on an answer; a miss is the found:false branch."
        },
        "matched_by": {
          "type": "string"
        },
        "application_number": {
          "type": "string"
        },
        "filing_date": {
          "type": "string"
        },
        "effective_filing_date": {
          "type": "string"
        },
        "status": {
          "type": "string"
        },
        "status_date": {
          "type": "string"
        },
        "first_inventor": {
          "type": "string"
        },
        "first_applicant": {
          "type": "string"
        },
        "applicants": {
          "type": "array",
          "items": {
            "type": "string"
          }
        },
        "classification": {
          "type": "string"
        },
        "grant_date": {
          "type": "string"
        },
        "publication_number": {
          "type": "string"
        },
        "publication_date": {
          "type": "string"
        }
      },
      "required": [
        "patent_number",
        "title",
        "type",
        "inventors"
      ]
    },
    {
      "type": "object",
      "description": "A miss or an unavailable upstream: found:false with a reason and a hint (the shape check-found-false-schemas.mjs expects).",
      "properties": {
        "found": {
          "type": "boolean",
          "enum": [
            false
          ]
        }
      },
      "required": [
        "found"
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Connect

Add this to your MCP client config — every tool in the catalog, including this one — or use one-click install buttons:

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

Connect to just the patents pack

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

See Getting Started for client-specific install steps.

get_patent