Epo Ops

Epo Ops Search Patents

epo_ops_search_patents

Read-onlyIdempotent

Search published patents worldwide via EPO OPS and get back full bibliographic records — title, applicants, inventors, publication date, country, IPC classifications — for each hit. Searches EPO DOCDB, which indexes publications from 100+ patent offices, so Chinese, Japanese, Korean, US and PCT/WO documents are all in scope alongside European ones — PCT international applications (publications beginning "WO") are covered here and in every other tool in this pack, not just EP filings. Each hit's kind code tells you what stage it is: an "A"-prefixed kind (A1, A2, A3…) is a published APPLICATION, not yet granted; a "B"-prefixed kind (B1, B2…) is a GRANTED patent; a WO publication's "A1"/"A2"/"A3" marks the PCT publication itself, not a grant — PCT applications are examined and granted nationally after entering each country's national phase, which this pack does not track. Results are not filtered to grants by default — most hits from a bare keyword search will be "A" kind. To find issued/granted patents specifically, scope the query with a kind or grant-relevant field (e.g. add AND pd>=<date> and check kind on the returned rows) rather than assuming an unfiltered hit is granted. Example queries: "ta=hydrogen", "in=Tesla", "pa=apple", "txt=neural network AND pd>=2020", "pa=moderna and pn=WO" (a company's PCT filings).

Example tool call

This call uses example arguments supplied in the tool’s input schema.

{
  "id": 1,
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "method": "tools/call",
  "params": {
    "arguments": {
      "query": "ta=hydrogen fuel cell"
    },
    "name": "epo_ops_search_patents"
  }
}

Input Schema

Name	Required	Description	Default
`query`	Yes	EPO CQL — fields: ta (title-abstract), ti (title), ab (abstract), txt (any text), in (inventor), pa (applicant), cl (classification), pn (publication number), ap (application number), pr (priority), pd (publication date), ad (application date).
`range`	No	Result range "start-end" (1-indexed). Max 100 per page. Default "1-25".

Output Schema

Name	Required	Description	Default
`query`	No	The CQL query actually sent to EPO OPS
`result`	No	Search result set

Schema Changelog

Changes observed during successful MCP inspections.

Changed3 schema fields changedNov 12, 2026

changedOutput schema / properties / query / description

Previous value: -"Query metadata"New value: +"The CQL query actually sent to EPO OPS"

removedOutput schema / properties / query / properties

Removed value: -{
-  "syntax": {
-    "description": "Query syntax version",
-    "type": "string"
-  }
-}

changedOutput schema / properties / query / type

Previous value: -"object"New value: +"string"

AddedNov 11, 2026

TDQS

A3.9/5.0

Behavior3/5

Does the description disclose side effects, auth requirements, rate limits, or destructive behavior?

Annotations already declare readOnly=true, idempotent=true, openWorld=true and non-destructive, so the safety profile is covered. The description still adds genuinely non-obvious behavior: DOCDB coverage of 100+ offices including CN/JP/KR/US/PCT, that results are NOT filtered to grants by default, and that national-phase grants are not tracked by the pack.

Agents need to know what a tool does to the world before calling it. Descriptions should go beyond structured annotations to explain consequences.

Conciseness5/5

Is the description appropriately sized, front-loaded, and free of redundancy?

Purpose and return shape are front-loaded in sentence one, followed by scope, then the kind-code decoding, then examples. The kind-code material is long but each clause answers a question an agent would otherwise get wrong (A vs B vs WO); nothing is filler.

Shorter descriptions cost fewer tokens and are easier for agents to parse. Every sentence should earn its place.

Completeness5/5

Given the tool's complexity, does the description cover enough for an agent to succeed on first attempt?

For a two-parameter search tool with an output schema already in place, the description covers scope, default filtering behavior, semantics of the returned kind field, and worked query syntax. Nothing needed to call it correctly is missing.

Complex tools with many parameters or behaviors need more documentation. Simple tools need less. This dimension scales expectations accordingly.

Parameters3/5

Does the description clarify parameter syntax, constraints, interactions, or defaults beyond what the schema provides?

Schema coverage is 100% and the schema itself enumerates all thirteen CQL fields, so the baseline is 3. The description contributes useful syntax examples showing how fields compose ('pa=moderna and pn=WO', 'txt=neural network AND pd>=2020') but does not document the `range` parameter or add constraints beyond the schema.

Input schemas describe structure but not intent. Descriptions should explain non-obvious parameter relationships and valid value ranges.

Purpose4/5

Does the description clearly state what the tool does and how it differs from similar tools?

The opening sentence gives a specific verb and resource ('Search published patents worldwide via EPO OPS') plus the return payload ('full bibliographic records — title, applicants, inventors...'). It never explicitly contrasts itself with the retrieval siblings (get_abstract, get_claims, get_biblio, get_family), so the search-versus-fetch split must be inferred from the tool names.

Agents choose between tools based on descriptions. A clear purpose with a specific verb and resource helps agents select the right tool.

Usage Guidelines4/5

Does the description explain when to use this tool, when not to, or what alternatives exist?

It supplies concrete query examples ('ta=hydrogen', 'pa=moderna and pn=WO') and explains how to narrow to granted patents via kind or date scoping, which is real when-to-use guidance. It stops short of naming an alternative tool for a different need, so no explicit routing.

Agents often have multiple tools that could apply. Explicit usage guidance like "use X instead of Y when Z" prevents misuse.

All Epo Ops tools Inspect

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