/patent-pipeline

name: patent-pipeline
description: "Full patent drafting pipeline from invention description to jurisdiction-formatted filing documents. Supports CN (CNIPA), US (USPTO), EP (EPO). Supports invention patents and utility models. Use when user says \"写专利\", \"patent pipeline\", \"专利申请\", \"draft patent\", \"写权利要求书\", or wants to draft a complete patent application."
argument-hint: "[invention-description — jurisdiction]"
allowed-tools: Bash(*), Read, Write, Edit, Grep, Glob, WebSearch, WebFetch, Skill, mcp__codex__codex

Patent Pipeline: From Invention to Filing

Draft a complete patent application based on: **$ARGUMENTS**

Overview

This skill orchestrates the full patent drafting lifecycle -- from prior art search through jurisdiction-formatted filing documents. It chains sub-skills into a patent-specific pipeline:

/prior-art-search → /patent-novelty-check → /invention-structuring → /claims-drafting → /specification-writing → /patent-review → /jurisdiction-format
     (search)           (verify)              (structure)             (claims)            (description)          (examiner)         (compile)
                                                                                              ├── /figure-description
                                                                                              └── /embodiment-description

**This is a parallel branch, not part of the linear research pipeline.** After `/idea-discovery` produces validated ideas, the user can either:

• Go to `/experiment-bridge` → `/auto-review-loop` → `/paper-writing` (publish track)
• Go to `/grant-proposal` (funding track)
• Go to `/patent-pipeline` (patent track) **<-- this skill**

                    ┌→ /experiment-bridge → /auto-review-loop → /paper-writing  (publish track)
/idea-discovery ────┤
                    ├→ /grant-proposal → [get funded] → ...  (funding track)
                    └→ /patent-pipeline → [file patent]       (patent track)

Patents are about **protecting inventions** (legal scope), not publishing results (academic contribution). This skill handles the unique requirements of patent drafting: prior art analysis, claims hierarchy design, specification writing with enablement support, embodiment descriptions, and jurisdiction-specific formatting.

Constants

• **JURISDICTION = `CN`** — Target patent jurisdiction. Options: `CN` (CNIPA), `US` (USPTO), `EP` (EPO), `ALL` (generate all three). Override via argument (e.g., `/patent-pipeline "invention — US"`).
• **PATENT_TYPE = `invention`** — `invention` (发明专利, 20 year protection) or `utility_model` (实用新型, CN only, 10 year protection, apparatus claims only). Override via argument.
• **REVIEWER_MODEL = `gpt-5.6-sol`** — Model used via Codex MCP for examiner-style review.
• **MAX_REVIEW_ROUNDS = 2** — Maximum review-revision cycles.
• **AUTO_PROCEED = false** — At each checkpoint, **always wait for explicit user confirmation**. Patent applications require inventor judgment at every stage. Set `true` only if user explicitly requests autonomous mode.
• **LANGUAGE = `auto`** — Output language. Auto-detected from jurisdiction: CN->Chinese, US->English, EP->English. Override explicitly if needed.
• **OUTPUT_DIR = `patent/`** — Directory for generated patent files.
• **OUTPUT_FORMAT = `markdown`** — Draft format. `markdown` for review, `docx` for filing-ready.

> Override defaults via arguments: `/patent-pipeline "invention — US, utility model"` or `/patent-pipeline "invention — ALL, language: Chinese"`.

Patent Type Specifications

Invention Patent (发明专利)

| Field | Detail | |-------|--------| | **Protection** | 20 years from filing date | | **Subject matter** | Methods, systems, products, compositions, processes | | **Examination** | Substantive examination required | | **Inventive step** | High (must involve an inventive step / 创造性) | | **Timeline** | 2-4 years to grant (CN); 2-3 years (US); 3-5 years (EP) | | **Claims** | Method + system + product claims allowed |

Utility Model (实用新型) — CN Only

| Field | Detail | |-------|--------| | **Protection** | 10 years from filing date | | **Subject matter** | Product shape, structure, or combination thereof only | | **Examination** | Formal examination only (no substantive examination) | | **Inventive step** | Lower than invention patent | | **Timeline** | 6-8 months to grant | | **Claims** | Apparatus/device claims only. NO method claims. | | **Restriction** | CN jurisdiction only |

State Persistence (Compact Recovery)

Patent drafting is a long task that may trigger context compaction. Persist state to `patent/PATENT_STATE.json` after each phase:

{
  "phase": 3,
  "jurisdiction": "CN",
  "patent_type": "invention",
  "language": "Chinese",
  "codex_thread_id": "019cfcf4-...",
  "invention_title": "...",
  "claims_count": 15,
  "status": "in_progress",
  "timestamp": "2026-04-10T15:00:00"
}

**Write this file at the end of every phase.** On invocation, check for this file:

• If absent or `status: "completed"` -> fresh start
• If `status: "in_progress"` and within 24h -> **resume** from saved phase (read output files to restore context)
• If older than 24h -> fresh start (stale state)

On completion, set `"status": "completed"`.

Workflow

Phase 0: Input Parsing & Context Gathering

Parse `$ARGUMENTS` to extract:

1. **Invention description** — may be structured (references INVENTION_BRIEF.md), conversational with figures, or output from IDEA_REPORT.md 2. **Jurisdiction** — detect from keywords (e.g., "CN" or "中国" -> CN, "US" or "USPTO" -> US, "EP" or "EPO" -> EP, "ALL") 3. **Patent type** — detect from keywords (e.g., "utility model" or "实用新型" -> utility_model, default -> invention) 4. **Overrides** — language, output format, review rounds

Then gather context from the project directory:

1. Read `INVENTION_BRIEF.md` if it exists (user filled in the template) 2. Read `IDEA_REPORT.md` if it exists (from `/idea-discovery` -- can ext