/bigquery-patent-search

name: bigquery-patent-search
description: Fast, cloud-based patent searching across 100 million+ worldwide patents using Google BigQuery - keyword search, CPC classification, patent details retrieval
tools: Bash, Read, Write
model: sonnet

BigQuery Patent Search Skill

Fast, cloud-based patent searching across 100 million+ worldwide patents using Google BigQuery.

When to Use

Invoke this skill when users ask to:

• Search for prior art patents
• Find patents in a specific technology area
• Search by CPC classification code
• Look up patent details by publication number
• Conduct freedom-to-operate searches
• Research patent landscapes

What This Skill Does

Provides access to Google's public patent dataset:

1. **Keyword Search** across 100M+ patents:

• Full-text search of titles, abstracts, claims
• Filter by country (US, EP, JP, CN, etc.)
• Filter by filing/grant date ranges
• Fast cloud-based queries (< 5 seconds)

2. **CPC Classification Search**:

• Search by CPC code (e.g., "G06F16/", "H04L29/06")
• Browse patent classifications
• Find patents in specific technical domains

3. **Patent Details Retrieval**:

• Get full patent text by publication number
• Access title, abstract, claims, description
• View CPC codes, inventors, assignees
• See filing and grant dates

Required Setup

This skill requires Google Cloud authentication:

**Prerequisites**: 1. Google Cloud Project (free to create) 2. BigQuery API enabled (free for reasonable usage) 3. Application Default Credentials configured

**Setup Commands**:

# Install Google Cloud SDK (if not installed)
# Visit: https://cloud.google.com/sdk/docs/install

# Authenticate
gcloud auth application-default login

# Set project (get ID from console.cloud.google.com)
export GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT=your-project-id

**Environment Variable**: Set in `.env` file: `GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT=your-project-id`

How to Use

When this skill is invoked:

1. **Initialize BigQuery searcher**:

   import os
   import sys
   sys.path.insert(0, os.environ.get('CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT', '.'))
   from mcp_server.bigquery_search import BigQueryPatentSearch

   searcher = BigQueryPatentSearch()

2. **Search by keywords**:

   results = searcher.search_by_keywords(
       query="blockchain authentication",
       limit=20,
       country="US",  # Optional: filter by country
       start_year=2020,  # Optional: filter by year
       end_year=2024
   )

3. **Search by CPC code**:

   results = searcher.search_by_cpc(
       cpc_code="G06F16/",  # CPC prefix
       limit=20,
       country="US"
   )

4. **Get patent details**:

   patent = searcher.get_patent_details(
       patent_number="US10123456B2"  # Publication number
   )

BigQuery Dataset

Uses `patents-public-data.patents` on Google BigQuery:

• **100M+ worldwide patents**
• **12M+ US patents** with full text
• Updated weekly
• Free to query (no billing for reasonable usage)

Search Result Format

Each result includes:

{
    "publication_number": "US10123456B2",
    "title": "Method and system for...",
    "abstract": "A system for...",
    "filing_date": "2019-01-15",
    "grant_date": "2020-06-30",
    "country": "US",
    "cpc_codes": ["G06F16/245", "H04L29/06"],
    "inventors": ["John Doe", "Jane Smith"],
    "assignee": "Example Corp"
}

Full patent details also include:

• `claims`: Full text of all claims
• `description`: Complete description section
• `priority_date`: Earliest priority date
• `family_id`: Patent family ID

Presentation Format

Present search results as:

PATENT SEARCH RESULTS
====================

Query: "blockchain authentication"
Found: 247 patents (showing top 20)
Date Range: 2020-2024
Country: US

[1] US10123456B2 - System for blockchain-based authentication
    Assignee: Example Corp
    Filed: 2019-01-15 | Granted: 2020-06-30
    CPC: G06F16/245, H04L29/06

    Abstract: A system for authenticating users using blockchain
    technology with distributed ledger verification...

[2] US10234567B1 - Method of secure authentication using blockchain
    ...

---

Top 5 Most Relevant:
1. US10123456B2 (95% relevance)
2. US10234567B1 (92% relevance)
...

Advanced Search Techniques

1. **Boolean Operators** in queries:

• "blockchain AND authentication"
• "encryption OR cryptography"
• "(mobile OR wireless) AND security"

2. **Phrase Search**:

• "distributed ledger technology"
• "public key infrastructure"

3. **CPC Code Hierarchies**:

• "G06F" = Computing
• "G06F16/" = Information retrieval
• "G06F16/245" = Structured query language

Common CPC Codes

• **G06F**: Computing, calculating, counting
• **H04L**: Digital communication
• **G06Q**: Business methods
• **H04W**: Wireless communication
• **G06N**: Computer systems based on specific models
• **G06T**: Image processing

Error Handling

If BigQuery is not configured: 1. Check if `google-cloud-bigquery` is installed 2. Verify authentication: `gcloud auth application-default login` 3. Confirm project ID in environment: `GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT` 4. Test with: `python scripts/test_bigquery.py`

Cost Considerations

BigQuery pricing:

• **First 1 TiB/month**: FREE
• **After 1 TiB**: $6.25 per TiB queried (on-demand)
• **Typical query**: 10-50 MB per search
• **Bytes-billed ceiling**: enforced per-query via `PATENT_BIGQUERY_MAX_BYTES_BILLED` (default 350 GiB)

Tools Available

• **Bash**: To run Python BigQuery searches
• **Read**: To load saved search results
• **Write**: To save patent search results
• **Grep**: To search through saved results