Claude Patent Creator

An AI-powered patent creation and analysis system for Claude Code.

I built this because I needed to file a patent myself. I used AI to build the system, used the system to file the patent, and it worked. Now it's open source so anyone can use it, whether you're a developer exploring AI tooling or a patent professional looking to speed up your workflow.

In plain terms, this tool lets you:

Search patent regulations instantly. Ask a question about MPEP, 35 USC, 37 CFR, EPC, or PCT rules and get the relevant sections in under a second, with citations.
Find prior art across 100M+ patents. Search Google's BigQuery patent database by keywords, CPC/IPC codes, or full-text queries. Link related patents across jurisdictions with family search.
Check your claims for compliance. Run your draft claims through automated analysis for USPTO (35 USC 112(b)) or EPO (Art. 84 EPC) and get specific feedback on definiteness, two-part form, and structure.
Review your full application. Specification adequacy, formalities, required sections — checked against USPTO, EPO, or PCT standards.
Search EP patents with full text. Get full claims and description text for European patents via the EPO OPS API (not available in BigQuery).
Generate patent diagrams. Block diagrams, flowcharts, and system architectures in patent style, no design tools needed.
Draft a complete patent application. A guided workflow that walks you through the whole process, from invention disclosure to filing-ready documents — for USPTO or EPO filing.

Quick Start
What Can I Actually Do With This?
How It Works
Installation Options
CLI Commands
MCP Tools Reference
Skills, Agents, and Slash Commands
Configuration
Requirements
Architecture
Performance
Known Issues
Glossary
Roadmap
Contributing
Credits
License

Quick Start

Pick the path that fits your setup. All three get you to the same place.

Option A: Claude Code Plugin (Easiest)

If you're already using Claude Code, this is the fastest way in:

# Add the marketplace and install
/plugin marketplace add RobThePCGuy/Claude-Patent-Creator
/plugin install claude-patent-creator-standalone@claude-patent-creator

# Run setup
/claude-patent-creator-standalone:setup-patent-system

Option B: One-Line Install

pip install git+https://github.com/RobThePCGuy/Claude-Patent-Creator.git && patent-creator setup

This handles everything automatically: installs dependencies, detects your GPU, downloads MPEP PDFs (~500MB), builds the search index, and registers the MCP server with Claude Code. Restart Claude Code when it finishes.

Option C: Manual Install

git clone https://github.com/RobThePCGuy/Claude-Patent-Creator.git
cd Claude-Patent-Creator

# Optional: use a virtual environment
python -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate  # Linux/macOS
venv\Scripts\activate     # Windows

pip install -e .
patent-creator setup

Verify It Worked

After any install path, run:

patent-creator health

You should see a status report showing which components are ready. If something's off, the output will tell you what to fix.

What Can I Actually Do With This?

Here are some real examples. You can type these directly in Claude Code and the right skill or tool kicks in automatically.

What you want to do	What to say	What happens
Find the MPEP rule on claim definiteness	"Search MPEP for claim definiteness requirements"	Hybrid search returns the most relevant MPEP sections with citations
Look for prior art	"Search for patents about neural network training filed in 2024"	BigQuery searches 100M+ patents and returns matching results
Check your claims	"Review these claims for 35 USC 112(b) compliance"	Automated analysis flags indefinite terms, missing antecedent basis, structural issues
Review a full application	`/full-review`	Runs claims + specification + formalities checks in parallel
Create a patent from scratch	`/create-patent`	Guided 6-phase workflow, takes 55-80 min, produces a complete filing package
Generate a diagram	"Create a block diagram showing the system architecture"	Generates a patent-style Graphviz diagram
Search prior art thoroughly	"Conduct a prior art search for [your invention]"	Automated novelty and freedom-to-operate analysis

How It Works

The system has two modes that can work independently or together:

MCP Server is the engine. It exposes 20+ tools that any MCP-compatible client (Claude Code, Claude Desktop, etc.) can call programmatically. These tools handle search, analysis, and diagram generation.

Claude Code Plugin adds the interactive layer. Skills activate automatically based on what you're doing. Agents handle long-running tasks in the background. Slash commands give you quick access to common workflows.

Under the hood, patent regulation search uses a hybrid approach: FAISS vector search finds semantically similar content, BM25 lexical search catches exact terminology matches, and a cross-encoder reranker sorts the combined results by relevance. Patent search goes through Google BigQuery's public patent dataset.

You (Claude Code) ──> MCP Server ──> Search / Analysis / Diagrams
                           │
            ┌──────────────┼──────────────┐
            v              v              v
     MPEP/USC/CFR     BigQuery        Graphviz
     (hybrid RAG)    (100M+ patents)   (diagrams)

Installation Options

Installs Python package dependencies
Detects your hardware (NVIDIA GPU, Apple Silicon, or CPU-only)
If a GPU is detected, uninstalls CPU-only PyTorch and installs the GPU version
Restarts the setup process with GPU-enabled PyTorch
Downloads MPEP, 35 USC, and 37 CFR PDFs (~500MB) from the USPTO
Builds the hybrid search index (FAISS + BM25) with GPU acceleration if available
Registers the MCP server with Claude Code

python -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate  # Linux/macOS
venv\Scripts\activate     # Windows

pip install git+https://github.com/RobThePCGuy/Claude-Patent-Creator.git && patent-creator setup

If you go this route, remember to activate the venv before running any manual commands. Claude Code handles activation automatically.

claude --plugin-dir ./Claude-Patent-Creator

This loads the plugin directly from your local checkout without installing from the marketplace.

CLI Commands

patent-creator setup             # Full setup wizard (downloads, builds index, registers MCP)
patent-creator health            # System health check (shows what's working and what isn't)
patent-creator status            # Same as health
patent-creator verify-config     # Check Claude Code MCP configuration
patent-creator serve             # Run the MCP server manually
patent-creator rebuild-index     # Rebuild the MPEP search index
patent-creator download-mpep     # Download MPEP PDFs only
patent-creator download-all      # Download all sources (MPEP + 35 USC + 37 CFR)
patent-creator check-bigquery    # Test BigQuery connection
patent-creator download-patents  # Download PatentsView corpus (9.2M+ patents)
patent-creator build-patent-index # Build patent search index
patent-creator patents-status    # Show patent corpus status

MCP Tools Reference

Search

Tool	What it does
`search_mpep`	Hybrid RAG search across MPEP, 35 USC, and 37 CFR with filters
`get_mpep_section`	Pull full content of a specific MPEP section
`search_patents_bigquery`	Search 100M+ patents by keyword
`get_patent_bigquery`	Get full details on a specific patent
`search_patents_by_cpc_bigquery`	Search by CPC classification code
`search_uspto_api`	Search via the USPTO API
`get_uspto_patent`	Get patent details from USPTO
`get_recent_uspto_patents`	Pull recent filings
`search_prior_art`	Automated prior art discovery

Analysis

Tool	What it does
`review_patent_claims`	35 USC 112(b) compliance check (definiteness, antecedent basis, structure)
`review_specification`	35 USC 112(a) adequacy check (written description, enablement, best mode)
`check_formalities`	MPEP 608 compliance (abstract, title, drawings, required sections)

Generation

Tool	What it does
`render_diagram`	Generate patent-style diagrams from Graphviz DOT code
`create_flowchart`	Build a flowchart from a list of steps and connections
`create_block_diagram`	Build a block diagram from components and relationships
`add_diagram_references`	Add patent reference numbers to an existing SVG diagram
`get_diagram_templates`	List available diagram templates

System

Tool	What it does
`get_index_stats`	Search index statistics
`check_bigquery_status`	BigQuery configuration status
`check_diagram_tools_status`	Graphviz availability
`check_patent_corpus_status`	Patent corpus status
`check_uspto_api_status`	USPTO API connectivity
`get_patent_details`	Combined patent retrieval across sources
`setup_claude_config`	Copy .claude configuration (skills, commands) to a project directory

Skills, Agents, and Slash Commands

Skills (activate automatically)

You don't need to call these directly. Just describe what you want to do and the right skill kicks in.

Skill	When it activates	What it brings
setup-assistant	Installing, configuring, or troubleshooting	Full setup lifecycle guidance
patent-reviewer	Reviewing a complete application for compliance	Comprehensive review (claims + spec + formalities)
patent-claims-analyzer	Reviewing claims specifically for 35 USC 112(b)	Deep-dive claims analysis (definiteness, antecedent basis, structure)
patent-search	Searching patents or prior art	BigQuery + PatentsView API search workflows
bigquery-patent-search	Quick BigQuery-only patent search	Keyword, CPC, and patent detail retrieval across 100M+ patents
mpep-search	Finding MPEP sections or regulations	Hybrid RAG search
patent-diagram-generator	Creating technical diagrams	Flowcharts, block diagrams, system architectures via Graphviz
patent-application-creator	Drafting a patent application interactively	Guided end-to-end workflow (prior art, claims, spec, diagrams, compliance)
prior-art-search	Novelty or freedom-to-operate analysis	7-step prior art discovery methodology
index-manager	Building or rebuilding the search index	MPEP index lifecycle management
development-assistant	Adding features or creating tools	Development workflows and patterns
troubleshooting-assistant	Something's broken	Systematic 6-step diagnostics
testing-assistant	Running tests or validation	Test suite execution

Agents (long-running, work independently)

These run in the background while you keep working on other things.

Agent	What it does	How long	Output
patent-creator	Drafts a complete USPTO-ready application	55-80 min	Specification, claims, abstract, diagrams, validation report
prior-art-searcher	Comprehensive prior art search	15-30 min	Patentability report, top 10 prior art, claim strategy, IDS list

To use them: "Create a patent for [your invention], use the patent-creator agent"

Slash Commands

/create-patent          # Complete patent creation workflow (55-80 min)
/search-prior-art       # Prior art search with novelty analysis
/full-review            # Parallel review (claims + spec + formalities)
/review-claims          # Claims-only 35 USC 112(b) analysis
/review-specification   # Specification-only 35 USC 112(a) analysis
/review-formalities     # MPEP 608 formalities check

Configuration

Environment Variables

Create a .env file in the project root (see .env.example):

# Required for BigQuery patent search
GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT=your-project-id

# Optional: EPO OPS API (for EP patent full-text search)
# Free registration at https://developers.epo.org
EPO_OPS_KEY=your-consumer-key
EPO_OPS_SECRET=your-consumer-secret

# Optional API keys (for HyDE query expansion)
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-...
OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-...

# Optional settings
PATENT_LOG_LEVEL=INFO
PATENT_LOG_FORMAT=human
PATENT_ENABLE_METRICS=true
PATENT_MPEP_USE_HYDE=false
PATENT_MPEP_DEVICE=gpu
PATENT_OPERATION_TIMEOUT=300

BigQuery gives you access to 100M+ worldwide patents. It requires a Google Cloud project with billing enabled (the public patent dataset itself is free to query within BigQuery's free tier).

# 1. Install Google Cloud SDK
# https://cloud.google.com/sdk/docs/install

# 2. Authenticate
gcloud auth application-default login

# 3. Set quota project (replace with your project ID)
gcloud auth application-default set-quota-project your-project-id

# 4. Set the environment variable
export GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT="your-project-id"   # Linux/macOS
$env:GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT="your-project-id"     # Windows PowerShell

# 5. Test it
patent-creator check-bigquery

Git Bash is required for the claude mcp add command on Windows. Install Git for Windows and set the path:

# In your .env file
CLAUDE_CODE_GIT_BASH_PATH=C:\Program Files\Git\bin\bash.exe

Use forward slashes in MCP config paths. The setup wizard handles this, but if you're configuring manually:

# Correct
claude mcp add ... -- "C:/Users/YourName/venv/Scripts/python.exe"

# Wrong (will fail)
claude mcp add ... -- "C:\Users\YourName\venv\Scripts\python.exe"

Requirements

Minimum

Python: 3.9 - 3.13 (3.14 is experimental)
RAM: 8GB
Disk: ~2GB (MPEP PDFs + search index)

Optional (but recommended)

GPU: NVIDIA with CUDA 12.8 (makes indexing 5-10x faster) or Apple Silicon (2-3x faster)
Google Cloud: Project with BigQuery enabled (for patent search)
Graphviz: System package (for diagram generation)

Package	Version	Purpose
mcp	>=1.21.0	MCP server framework
sentence-transformers	>=5.1.2, <6.0.0	Text embeddings
faiss-cpu	>=1.13.0	Vector similarity search
numpy	>=1.26.0, <3.0.0	Array operations
rank-bm25	>=0.2.2	Lexical search
transformers	>=4.57.1, <5.0.0	HuggingFace models
google-cloud-bigquery	>=3.38.0	Patent search
pydantic	>=2.10.0	Data validation
graphviz	>=0.21	Diagram generation
PyMuPDF	>=1.26.0	PDF processing

See pyproject.toml for the complete list.

Architecture

claude-patent-creator/
├── .claude-plugin/          # Plugin manifest and marketplace config
├── mcp_server/              # Core MCP server
│   ├── server.py            # FastMCP entry point
│   ├── mpep_search.py       # Hybrid RAG search engine
│   ├── bigquery_search.py   # BigQuery patent search
│   ├── claims_analyzer.py   # 35 USC 112(b) analyzer
│   ├── specification_analyzer.py  # 112(a) analyzer
│   ├── formalities_checker.py     # MPEP 608 checker
│   ├── diagram_generator.py       # Graphviz diagrams
│   ├── tools/               # MCP tool definitions
│   └── index/               # FAISS + BM25 index (git-ignored)
├── skills/                  # Claude Code skills (13)
├── agents/                  # Autonomous agents (10)
├── commands/                # Slash commands (11)
├── hooks/                   # Event-driven automation
├── scripts/                 # Testing and utilities
├── docs/                    # Additional documentation
├── pdfs/                    # Downloaded MPEP PDFs (git-ignored)
└── CLAUDE.md                # Full project documentation

For the complete architecture documentation, development workflows, and troubleshooting guides, see CLAUDE.md.

Performance

Operation	Time	Notes
MPEP Search	50-200ms	Hybrid FAISS + BM25
BigQuery Patent Search	1-3 sec	100M+ patents
USPTO API	500ms - 2s	Rate-limited by USPTO
Index Build (GPU)	3-5 min	NVIDIA CUDA 12.8
Index Build (Apple Silicon)	8-12 min	MPS acceleration
Index Build (CPU)	25-35 min	No GPU

Resource usage: the loaded search index takes about 2-4GB of RAM and the index files are 500MB-1GB on disk. If you have a GPU, it'll use 1-2GB of VRAM for acceleration.

Known Issues

This project is a work in progress. Most features work, but expect some rough edges. Contributions, issues, and PRs are welcome.

Things to be aware of:

PyTorch install order matters. Install PyTorch before sentence-transformers, or you'll end up with CPU-only PyTorch even on a GPU system. The setup wizard handles this, but it can bite you on manual installs.
BigQuery requires a Google Cloud project with billing enabled. The patent data itself is free to query within the BigQuery free tier.
Some diagram types need Graphviz installed as a system package (not just the Python bindings).
HyDE query expansion requires API keys (Anthropic or OpenAI). It's optional and off by default.
Windows users need Git Bash for the claude mcp add command. See Windows setup notes.

See CLAUDE.md for the full troubleshooting guide.

Glossary

If you're coming from the development side and patent terminology is new (or vice versa), here's a quick reference:

Term	What it means
MPEP	Manual of Patent Examining Procedure. The handbook patent examiners use at the USPTO. Think of it as the rulebook.
35 USC	Title 35 of the United States Code. The federal patent statutes.
37 CFR	Title 37 of the Code of Federal Regulations. The rules that implement the patent statutes.
USPTO	United States Patent and Trademark Office. The agency that grants patents.
CPC	Cooperative Patent Classification. A system for categorizing patents by technology area.
Prior Art	Anything publicly available before your filing date that's relevant to your invention. Finding it is how you figure out if your idea is actually new.
112(a)	The section of patent law requiring your application to fully describe and enable the invention.
112(b)	The section requiring your claims to be definite and clear.
MPEP 608	The section covering formalities like abstract length, title format, and drawing requirements.
RAG	Retrieval Augmented Generation. Instead of relying only on what the AI was trained on, it searches a database first and uses those results to give a better answer.
FAISS	Facebook AI Similarity Search. A fast way to find similar text by comparing mathematical representations of meaning.
BM25	A text search algorithm that matches exact words and phrases. Works alongside FAISS to catch things vector search might miss.
MCP	Model Context Protocol. A standard for connecting AI tools to AI models. It's how this system talks to Claude.
IDS	Information Disclosure Statement. A form listing prior art references you need to disclose to the USPTO.

Roadmap

Complete implementation of all MCP tools
Evaluation metrics for RAG search performance
Support for international patent offices (EPO, WIPO/PCT)
Web interface for non-Claude Code users
Claim dependency graph visualization
Automated obviousness analysis (35 USC 103)
Patent portfolio analysis tools
Integration with patent drafting software

Contributing

This project is open to contributions. Since it's a work in progress, expect breaking changes and incomplete documentation. Issues and PRs are welcome.

See CONTRIBUTING.md for the development setup, branch naming, commit conventions, and code style guide.

Credits

Open Source Dependencies

This project builds on excellent open source work: FastMCP, FAISS (Meta AI Research), Sentence Transformers (UKP Lab), HuggingFace Transformers, PyTorch, rank-bm25, PyMuPDF, Graphviz, Pydantic, and Google Cloud BigQuery.

Data Sources

MPEP, 35 USC, and 37 CFR are published by the USPTO. Patent data comes from Google BigQuery's patents-public-data dataset (100M+ patents). Embedding models are BGE-base-en-v1.5 (BAAI) and MS-MARCO MiniLM-L-6-v2 (Microsoft).

Trademark Notice

"USPTO" is a registered trademark of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. This project isn't affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the USPTO.

Project Status

This project is in beta. I'm actively working on it, but not everything is polished and some features may not work as described. If you run into issues, open one on GitHub and I'll take a look.

For detailed documentation: CLAUDE.md | For security issues: SECURITY.md

License

MIT License. See LICENSE for details.

Built with Claude Code. The code is the output, but the real work is deciding what needs to exist and how the pieces fit together.

Claude-Patent-Creator

Before / After Comparison

description SKILL.md