# Google Patents Scraper - Patent Data, Claims & Citations (`lulzasaur/google-patents-scraper`) Actor

Scrape Google Patents for patent details, abstracts, claims, inventors, assignees, classifications, citations, similar patents, and PDF links. Search or provide patent URLs.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/lulzasaur/google-patents-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [lulz bot](https://apify.com/lulzasaur) (community)
- **Categories:** E-commerce
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $10.00 / 1,000 results

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.
Actors are written with capital "A".

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.
The best way to integrate Actors is as follows.

- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md).

For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below.

For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt).

# README

## Google Patents Scraper

Scrape patent data from [Google Patents](https://patents.google.com/) including abstracts, claims, inventors, assignees, classifications, citations, similar patents, and PDF download links.

### Features

- **Patent Detail Mode**: Provide patent URLs or patent numbers (e.g., `US11234567B2`) to scrape specific patents
- **Search Mode**: Search for patents by keyword query
- **Rich Data Extraction**: Extracts from microdata (itemprop), meta tags, and structured HTML
- **Pay Per Event**: Only pay for results you actually get

### Input

| Field | Type | Description |
|-------|------|-------------|
| `mode` | string | `patent-detail` or `search` |
| `patentUrls` | string\[] | Patent URLs or numbers (for patent-detail mode) |
| `searchQueries` | string\[] | Search queries (for search mode) |
| `maxResults` | integer | Max patents per search query (default: 50) |
| `includeDescription` | boolean | Include full description text (default: false, truncated to 500 chars) |
| `proxyConfiguration` | object | Optional proxy settings |

### Output

Each patent result includes:

| Field | Description |
|-------|-------------|
| `patentNumber` | Patent publication number (e.g., US11234567B2) |
| `title` | Patent title |
| `abstract` | Patent abstract |
| `claims` | Array of patent claims |
| `claimCount` | Number of claims |
| `description` | Patent description (truncated unless includeDescription=true) |
| `inventors` | Array of inventor names |
| `assignee` | Current assignee |
| `applicationNumber` | Application number |
| `filingDate` | Filing date |
| `issueDate` | Issue/publication date |
| `expirationDate` | Expiration date |
| `status` | Patent status (Active, Expired, Pending, etc.) |
| `countryCode` | Country code (US, EP, WO, etc.) |
| `classifications` | CPC/IPC classification codes |
| `citations` | Backward references (cited patents) |
| `citationCount` | Number of citations |
| `similarPatents` | Similar/related patents |
| `pdfUrl` | Direct PDF download URL |

### Example Input

#### Scrape specific patents

```json
{
    "mode": "patent-detail",
    "patentUrls": ["US11234567B2", "US10000000B2"]
}
```

#### Search for patents

```json
{
    "mode": "search",
    "searchQueries": ["machine learning", "natural language processing"],
    "maxResults": 25
}
```

### Use Cases

- **IP Research**: Analyze patent portfolios for competitors
- **Prior Art Search**: Find related patents for patent applications
- **Technology Landscape**: Map innovation trends by classification
- **Citation Analysis**: Build citation networks and identify key patents
- **Due Diligence**: Verify patent status and expiration dates

### Pricing

This actor uses Pay Per Event pricing. You are charged $0.005 per result scraped.

# Actor input Schema

## `mode` (type: `string`):

patent-detail: scrape specific patents by URL or number. search: search for patents by query.

## `patentUrls` (type: `array`):

List of Google Patents URLs or patent numbers (e.g. US11234567B2). Used in patent-detail mode.

## `searchQueries` (type: `array`):

Search terms to find patents (e.g. 'machine learning'). Used in search mode.

## `maxResults` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of patents to scrape per search query.

## `includeDescription` (type: `boolean`):

Include the full patent description text (can be very long). If false, only the first 500 chars are included.

## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`):

Optional proxy configuration.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "mode": "patent-detail",
  "patentUrls": [
    "US11234567B2"
  ],
  "searchQueries": [
    "machine learning"
  ],
  "maxResults": 50,
  "includeDescription": false
}
```

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "patentUrls": [
        "US11234567B2"
    ],
    "searchQueries": [
        "machine learning"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("lulzasaur/google-patents-scraper").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "patentUrls": ["US11234567B2"],
    "searchQueries": ["machine learning"],
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("lulzasaur/google-patents-scraper").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "patentUrls": [
    "US11234567B2"
  ],
  "searchQueries": [
    "machine learning"
  ]
}' |
apify call lulzasaur/google-patents-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,lulzasaur/google-patents-scraper"
        }
    }
}

```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/nYGpDqjphiLTMhQn1/builds/w0SWsAvgzAOh7Mz96/openapi.json