Patent & Literature SearchMCP Server

Released Jul 21, 2026

Apache-2.0

Summary

Patsnap's MCP server for searching global patents across WIPO, EPO, USPTO, CNIPA, JPO and KIPO alongside scientific literature, returning records as AI-readable Markdown.

Features

Patents from WIPO, EPO, USPTO, CNIPA, JPO, KIPO and many more authorities
Scientific literature from PubMed, arXiv, Nature, Science and other major sources
Semantic, keyword, BM25 and structured search modes
Simultaneous filtering by assignee, inventor, IPC class, legal status, jurisdiction, date and citations
Natural-language input in English or Chinese; the server builds the search strategy
Cross-domain requests combine patent and paper results for reasoning over both
Records returned as AI-readable Markdown
10,000 free credits on registration, no credit card

Installation

Set up this MCP server in your favorite AI agent — copy a ready-made configuration below.

Any MCP-compatible agent

Most agents (Claude, Cursor, Windsurf, VS Code, and more) read a standard mcpServers configuration.

Open your agent's MCP configuration file.
Merge the snippet below into it.
Restart the agent — the "Patent & Literature Search" tools will be available.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "patsnap-patent-literature-search": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run",
        "--rm",
        "-i",
        "-e",
        "PATSNAP_API_KEY",
        "ghcr.io/patsnap/patent-literature-search-mcp:latest"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Claude Code

Add the server with a single CLI command.

claude mcp add patsnap-patent-literature-search -- docker run --rm -i -e PATSNAP_API_KEY ghcr.io/patsnap/patent-literature-search-mcp:latest

Claude Desktop

Add the server to claude_desktop_config.json (Settings → Developer → Edit Config).

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "patsnap-patent-literature-search": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run",
        "--rm",
        "-i",
        "-e",
        "PATSNAP_API_KEY",
        "ghcr.io/patsnap/patent-literature-search-mcp:latest"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Containerised stdio bridge. Alternatively use the hosted streamableHttp endpoint https://connect.patsnap.com/2b0355/logic-mcp?apikey=YOUR_API_KEY

{
  "command": "docker",
  "args": [
    "run",
    "--rm",
    "-i",
    "-e",
    "PATSNAP_API_KEY",
    "ghcr.io/patsnap/patent-literature-search-mcp:latest"
  ]
}

Description

Prior-art work is the kind of research an agent should be good at and usually is not, because the corpora sit behind paywalled interfaces rather than open APIs. This MCP server from Patsnap — a global innovation-intelligence platform covering patents, scientific literature, chemistry and life sciences — puts both corpora inside Claude, Cursor or any other MCP-compatible client.

What it searches

Patents across international and regional authorities (WIPO/PCT, EPO, ARIPO, EAPO, OAPI, GCC) and major national offices (USPTO, CNIPA, JPO, KIPO, DPMA, INPI, UKIPO, CIPO, IP Australia), plus additional jurisdictions across Europe, Asia-Pacific, the Americas, the Middle East and Africa — applications, grants, designs and utility models where the authority supports them.

Scientific literature from PubMed, arXiv, Nature, Science and other major sources, searched semantically and by keyword.

How it searches

Four retrieval modes — semantic, keyword, BM25 and structured — with filtering by assignee, inventor, IPC class, legal status, jurisdiction, date range and citation count, applied simultaneously. You describe the problem in plain English or Chinese and the server constructs the search strategy; selected records come back as AI-readable Markdown rather than raw bibliographic dumps.

The useful part for research agents is cross-domain orchestration: one request can cover patents and papers together and combine the structured results for reasoning over both.

Access

Registering on the Patsnap Open Platform gives 10,000 free credits with no credit card. The hosted server connects over streamable HTTP with your API key in the URL; a containerised stdio bridge (ghcr.io/patsnap/patent-literature-search-mcp) is available for environments that deploy MCP servers from source. Also listed on Smithery.

Apache 2.0 licensed. Patsnap's interactive R&D assistant, Eureka, covers the same data for humans.

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