mcp-uspto-ptab

USPTO PTAB MCP — wraps the USPTO Open Data Portal (ODP) PTAB APIs

Part of Pipeworx — an MCP gateway connecting AI agents to 1837+ live data sources. This is an independent, unofficial integration — not affiliated with, endorsed by, or published by the upstream provider.

Tools

| Tool | Description | |------|-------------| | ptab_search_proceedings | Search USPTO PTAB trial proceedings — patent litigation before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (inter partes review / IPR, post-grant review / PGR, covered-business-method / CBM, derivation). Returns trial number, type, status, the challenged patent, petitioner, patent owner, and key dates (petition filing, institution decision, latest decision, termination). Filter by free-text query, patent_number (the patent being challenged), party (petitioner or patent-owner real-party name), trial_type (IPR/PGR/CBM/DER), and/or status. Powered by the USPTO Open Data Portal (data.uspto.gov). | | ptab_search_decisions | Search USPTO PTAB decision documents — institution decisions and final written decisions issued in IPR/PGR/CBM trials, plus appeal outcomes. Returns the trial number, decision type, issue date, trial/appeal outcome, the issue types and statutes/rules at play, and the decision document title + download URI. Filter by free-text query, patent_number, trial_type, and a decided_after/decided_before date range. Powered by the USPTO Open Data Portal (data.uspto.gov). | | ptab_search_documents | Search USPTO PTAB filings and documents within trial proceedings — petitions, patent-owner responses, expert declarations, exhibits, motions, and briefs. Pass proceeding_number (the trial number, e.g. "IPR2024-00001") to list every document filed in a proceeding, and/or query for free-text search. Returns document name/title, type, filing date, filing party, size, and download URI. Powered by the USPTO Open Data Portal (data.uspto.gov). | | ptab_proceeding_timeline | Build a chronological PTAB proceeding timeline from the proceeding record and its public decision documents. Returns institution, final-written-decision, rehearing, settlement, dismissal, and other recorded decision events; absence of an event is not proof that it never occurred. | | ptab_patent_risk_profile | Summarize PTAB proceedings and recorded decision outcomes for one challenged patent. Reports status/outcome counts and recent matters for review routing; it is not a validity opinion, litigation forecast, freedom-to-operate analysis, or claim-level legal conclusion. | | ptab_party_exposure | Summarize PTAB proceeding exposure for a petitioner or patent owner, including roles, challenged patents, statuses, trial types, and recorded outcomes. Party matching follows USPTO indexed names and may combine similarly named entities; verify identity before relying on totals. | | ptab_recent_decisions | Return and summarize recently issued public PTAB trial decisions, optionally filtered by trial type, patent, or party. Outcome labels describe the document-level USPTO record and require review in proceeding context; they are not claim-by-claim legal conclusions. | | ptab_search_appeals | Search USPTO ex parte Appeals decisions — an applicant's appeal of a patent examiner's rejection to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. This is a SEPARATE docket from AIA trials (IPR/PGR/CBM/derivation): an appeal number looks like "2024-001234", not "IPR2024-00001". Returns an outcome-count summary first (affirmed / reversed / affirmed-in-part / other), then the matching decision records, each with the applicant/real-party-in-interest, application and patent number, counsel, art unit, appeal filing date, decision type/date, and the decision document link. Filter by appeal_number, application_number (the rejected application under appeal), free-text query, and/or a decided_after/decided_before date range. Powered by the USPTO Open Data Portal (data.uspto.gov). | | ptab_appeal | Get one USPTO ex parte Appeal decision by its appeal number (e.g. "2024-001234") — the Board's decision on an applicant's appeal of an examiner rejection. Returns the decision type, issue date, outcome (affirmed / reversed / affirmed-in-part), issues and rules at play, and the decision document title + download link. Powered by the USPTO Open Data Portal (data.uspto.gov). | | ptab_search_interferences | Search USPTO patent Interference decisions — pre-AIA priority contests between competing applicants/patentees over who invented first. A SEPARATE docket from AIA trials and ex parte Appeals. Filter by patent_number (a patent or application involved in the contest), party (junior- or senior-party name, or either party's real party in interest), and/or free-text query. Returns the interference number, style ("A v. B"), declaration date, the junior and senior party (each with name, real party in interest, inventor, counsel, application/patent number, grant date), any additional parties, decision type/date and outcome, and the decision document link. Powered by the USPTO Open Data Portal (data.uspto.gov). |

Quick Start

Add to your MCP client (Claude Desktop, Cursor, Windsurf, etc.):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "uspto-ptab": {
      "url": "https://gateway.pipeworx.io/uspto-ptab/mcp"
    }
  }
}

What this endpoint actually serves

tools/list at https://gateway.pipeworx.io/uspto-ptab/mcp returns the tools in the table above plus the shared Pipeworx meta-tools — ask_pipeworx, discover_tools, search_within, remember/recall and the rest of the gateway-wide set. So the tool count you see is larger than this table: a single-pack endpoint currently lists roughly 30 shared tools alongside the pack's own. The connection's initialize response states its exact scope, and is the authoritative answer for a given day.

This is deliberate, not multiplexing by accident. The meta-tools are what let a scoped connection answer a question this pack does not cover — via ask_pipeworx, which routes across the whole catalog — without you adding a second MCP server. There is currently no way to mount a pack endpoint without them; if the extra schemas cost you more context than the routing is worth, connect to the full gateway once rather than to several pack endpoints.

Or connect to the full Pipeworx gateway to get every pack's tools listed directly, instead of just this one's:

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

Both URLs reach the same gateway and the same 1837+ data sources. The only difference is which pack's tools are listed directly; ask_pipeworx reaches all of them from either one.

No MCP client? Call it over HTTP

curl -X POST https://gateway.pipeworx.io/v1/tools/ptab_search_proceedings \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"patent_number":"11809431","trial_type":"IPR"}'

No account needed for the first calls. Inspect any tool: GET https://gateway.pipeworx.io/v1/tools/ptab_search_proceedings. Find one: POST https://gateway.pipeworx.io/v1/tools/search_packs with {"query":"..."}.

Standalone (no gateway account)

This package also runs as a local stdio MCP server — no Pipeworx account, no gateway round-trip:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "uspto-ptab": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@pipeworx/mcp-uspto-ptab"]
    }
  }
}

Or run it directly to confirm it starts:

npx -y @pipeworx/mcp-uspto-ptab

It speaks MCP over stdin/stdout and answers initialize/tools/list/tools/call for only this pack's tools — none of the shared meta-tools the gateway connection above adds. Same source, same tools, no ask_pipeworx routing.

Using with ask_pipeworx

Instead of calling tools directly, you can ask questions in plain English — this works on the pack endpoint above as well as on the full gateway:

ask_pipeworx({ question: "your question about Uspto Ptab data" })

The gateway picks the right tool and fills the arguments automatically.

More

• Docs and guides
• pipeworx.io

License

MIT