PATENT MECHANICS
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[ Product ]

Deep context for
actionable insights

Patent Mechanics reads your question, searches patent publications from 160 jurisdictions by meaning and by keyword, screens the claims that matter, and answers in a format a patent professional can check.

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01[ How it works ]

Four steps behind every answer.

Search by what an invention does, not only the words used to describe it. Then check every candidate against the claims, the dates and the legal status.

01

Describe

Paste an invention disclosure, a product brief, a patent number or a claim. No claim language or search syntax needed. Add a cutoff date, or it uses the right one for the workflow.
02

Search

Several searches run over the claims, abstracts and descriptions of patents from 160 jurisdictions, combining semantic and keyword ranking, so references written in different words are still found.
03

Screen

Candidates are checked claim element by element against your invention or product, with priority and effective dates verified and lapsed or expired patents set aside.
04

Answer

A verdict, a ranked table, a claim chart with quoted passages, open questions and next steps. Every statement links to the source document so it can be verified.
02[ Prior-art search ]

Is my invention new?

For inventors, R&D leads and attorneys preparing a filing. Find the closest prior art before spending on an application, and see which features are actually yours.

You provide
A short invention description in plain language, and optionally the invention date.
You get
  • The closest references, ranked, with what each one discloses
  • A feature × reference matrix: disclosed, partly disclosed or not found
  • Combination risk: whether two references together cover every feature
  • The features that appear novel, and guidance on what to claim
Example · abridgedPrior art
PromptAssess this invention against prior art filed before August 31, 2020: a small utility trailer that can be stood on its end for storage. Removable caster wheels at the rear let you tip it upright and roll it into a corner of the garage.
Closest references · matched by what the invention does, not shared keywords
#ReferenceDiscloses
1US 6,955,375Trailer that stands upright for storage
2US 7,258,362Same family: upright stowable trailer deck
5US 4,480,851Stowable trailer
Appears novel: rear-facing removable casters that let the upright trailer be rolled. Claim that arrangement; the upright storage alone will not hold.
The patent office examiner cited the same references when examining the real application, US 11,420,696 (granted 2022). A keyword-only search ranked the two Thurm patents #31 and #79.
03[ Invalidity search ]

Can this claim be invalidated?

For litigators, licensing teams and anyone facing an assertion. Find earlier art against a specific claim and see how strong the case is before you commit to a challenge.

You provide
A patent number and the claim you want to challenge.
You get
  • A date check: the patent's priority date and each reference's effective date
  • A claim chart with quoted passages and pinpoint citations
  • §102 anticipation and §103 obviousness grounds, with a strength rating per claim
  • Which references the examiner already saw during prosecution
Example · abridgedInvalidity
PromptFind prior art that could invalidate claim 8 of US 8,117,034.
Challenged: claim 8, synchronising an audio cursor and a text cursor while correcting a speech-recognition transcript.
#ReferenceDate checkGround
1US 2002/0095291 · Sumner✓§103 with Schulz
2US 6,360,237 · Schulz✓§103 alone
Assessment: strong obviousness case. Schulz discloses the synchronised playback and editing; Sumner fills the remaining cursor-control element.
Public record: in IPR2018-01431 (MModal v. Nuance), the Patent Trial and Appeal Board found claims 8 and 13 unpatentable as obvious over these two references. Neither was cited during prosecution.
04[ Freedom to operate ]

Can anyone stop our launch?

For product, engineering and legal teams before a launch. See who could assert a patent, how serious it is, when the risk ends, and what engineering can change.

You provide
A product brief in plain product language: what it does, not legal terms.
You get
  • A verdict: how many patents need attention, how many to watch, how many were cleared
  • A risk table with assignee, status and estimated expiry
  • A claim chart: ✓ present, ? unclear, ✗ absent, for each element
  • Questions for engineering, design-around options and when to involve counsel
Example · abridgedFTO
PromptWe're launching a Wi-Fi pellet smoker. Customers pair it with our phone app, which shows when the grill is online through our cloud service and lets them set the temperature, start a cook and get alerts from anywhere.
Needs attention: US 10,218,833 B2, Traeger Pellet Grills · in force, est. 2035 · High
ElementClaim 1 (abridged)Product
1[a]Cloud service reports that the grill is connected?
1[b]App shows the grill is available✓
1[c]App sends instructions to the grill✓
Design-around: pair and control over the local network, without the cloud availability step in 1[a].
Public record: Green Mountain Grills challenged this patent twice in post-grant review (PGR2019-00034, PGR2019-00035). Both times the Board upheld every challenged claim.
05[ API & MCP ]

Use the same search in your own tools.

A REST API for search and full documents, and an MCP server so assistants such as Claude can search patents from 160 jurisdictions directly. Same index, same ranking as the app.

POST /v1/search
Hybrid, semantic or keyword
Filters
Dates, assignee, CPC, status
MCP tools
search_patents · get_patent · prior_art
Auth
API key or OAuth
APILive
1$ curl https://api.patentmechanics.com/v1/search \
2    -H "Authorization: Bearer $PM_API_KEY" \
3    -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
4    -d '{"query": "utility trailer stored upright on caster wheels",
5         "mode": "hybrid", "limit": 10}'
6→ 10 patents, one per family, with matched passages
7✓ ranked by meaning and keywords
06[ Data handling ]

Your questions stay yours.

What you ask about reveals what you are building. Patent Mechanics is designed so that information stays confidential.

Model training
Prompts and answers are never used to train models
Retention
Conversations deleted after 90 days
Infrastructure
Google Cloud, United States
Encryption
TLS in transit, encrypted at rest
Access
Work-email sign-in, per-user API keys
07[ Plans ]

Start free. Scale to your entire team.

Every account starts with a 7-day free trial. Standard and Enterprise add higher limits, export and your own documents; pricing is set with each team.

Compare plans
01Free

7-day trial

All three workflows in the web app, the API and the MCP server, with a daily allowance. Sign in with your work email.
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02Standard

For teams

Higher daily limits for every user, and export of claim charts and answers to Word and Excel, ready for counsel.
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03Enterprise

Your context

Everything in Standard, plus your own invention disclosures, product specifications and portfolio in answers, with context tailored to each team.
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NotePatent Mechanics is a research tool. Its answers support, but do not replace, a legal opinion from a registered patent practitioner.

[ Get started ]

Bring a real question.

An invention you are about to file, a patent asserted against you, or a product you are about to ship. Start free today, or talk to us for a walkthrough.

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