# ip-free-mcp

An MCP server for **EU and Benelux trademark research, and company lookup** over free,
public sources. No API keys. No subscription. No per-call billing.

Ask your assistant *"is the name Northwind free in classes 9 and 42?"* and get a verdict
backed by the actual registers — which marks are live, which expired, who holds them, and
what they cover. Then ask *"who is that holder?"* and get their legal form, national
register number, and group structure.

```
tm_clearance("Northwind", [9, 42])
  → NAME FREE, but live similar rights exist in your classes
    identical + live ......... 0
    identical but expired .... 2   the name was claimed once and let go
    live overlap in 9/42 ..... 1   a figurative mark, same classes, valid to 2031
```

*(Illustrative. Run it on your own name for real numbers.)*

## Why this exists

The hosted IP MCP servers all want credentials. The official EUIPO API needs a developer
account *and* a plan subscription on top of it, and until that subscription is approved
every query returns HTTP 403.

The trap: at least one commercial MCP server repackages that 403 as
`"No trademarks found"`. An empty result then looks like a clean name while nothing was
ever retrieved. That is a decision-grade error, and it bills you per call for the
privilege.

This server sidesteps the whole problem. It reads the same registers through endpoints
that are public and free, and it tells you which source answered.

## What it can do

| Tool | What it gives you |
|---|---|
| `tm_clearance` | **Start here.** A verdict on one name in EU + Benelux, split into identical-and-live, identical-but-expired, and live look-alikes in your Nice classes. |
| `tm_search` | Raw search across TMview. EU + Benelux by default, live rights only; flip `worldwide` for all national registers. |
| `tm_detail` | The full EUIPO case file for an EU application number: status, filing/registration/expiry dates, renewals, holder, oppositions, and the complete goods-and-services text per class. |
| `tm_offices` | The register codes you can pass to `tm_search` — 46 offices plus WIPO. |
| `company_search` | Find a company by name: legal form, status, address, national register number, LEI. Turns a mark holder into a known entity. |
| `company_detail` | The full GLEIF record for a LEI, plus group structure — direct parent, ultimate parent, subsidiaries. |
| `vat_check` | Verify an EU VAT number and get the officially registered name and address back. |
| `nl_company_search` ᵖ | Find a Dutch company in the Handelsregister by trade name, city, postcode or domain — including the SMEs GLEIF misses. |
| `nl_company_profile` ᵖ | Full Handelsregister profile: legal name, **all trade names**, legal form, RSIN, addresses. |
| `nl_company_vat` ᵖ | The VAT number for a KVK number — feed it to `vat_check` to confirm the name for free. |
| `nl_company_tree` ᵖ | Group structure for a KVK number: parents, subsidiaries and UBO. |

ᵖ = optional, **paid**, and off unless you configure credentials. Everything above the line
is free and needs no setup.
| `eu_company_search` | Search **thirteen national company registers** by name at once — AT, CH, CZ, DK, EE, FI, FR, IE, LT, LV, NO, SI, SK. |
| `eu_company_by_number` | Look a company up by its national number — ten registers, e.g. CZ by IČO, CH by UID, RO by CUI, MT by MBR number, PL by NIP/REGON. |
| `eu_company_sources` | Which countries have a free register, which don't, why — and where a VAT number gets you the name for free instead. |

## Install

Requires Node 18 or newer. Nothing else — the server has zero dependencies.

**Claude Code**

```bash
claude mcp add --scope user ip-free -- npx -y github:AI-AlexBaum/IP-MCP
```

**Claude Desktop / Cursor / any MCP client** — add to your config:

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ip-free": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "github:AI-AlexBaum/IP-MCP"]
    }
  }
}
```

**From a clone**

```bash
git clone https://github.com/AI-AlexBaum/IP-MCP.git
cd IP-MCP && npm run smoke     # verifies all four tools against the live registers
node src/index.js              # speaks MCP over stdio
```

## Reading a clearance result

`tm_clearance` returns four buckets, and the difference between them is the whole point.

```jsonc
{
  "name": "Northwind",
  "classes_checked": [9, 42],
  "registers": ["EU (EUIPO)", "Benelux (NL/BE/LU)"],
  "verdict": "NAME FREE, but live similar rights exist in your classes",

  "identical_and_live": [],                     // blocks you outright
  "identical_but_expired": [                    // free again — but shows who tried
    { "mark": "NORTHWIND", "type": "Word", "status": "Ended",
      "application_date": "1998-03-11", "classes": [37, 42], "holder": ["Example Corp"] }
  ],
  "similar_live_in_your_classes": [             // the real risk surface
    { "mark": "Northwind Pro", "type": "Figurative", "status": "Registered",
      "number": "0XXXXXXXX", "classes": [9, 35, 42],
      "holder": ["Another Example GmbH"] }
  ],
  "live_in_benelux": [],                        // your home market specifically

  "counts": { "raw": 5, "live": 1, "identical_live": 0, "class_overlap": 1 }
}
```

Four verdicts are possible:

- `TAKEN` — an identical live mark exists in your classes. Pick another name.
- `IDENTICAL MARK EXISTS, but in other classes` — same name, different field. Often workable.
- `NAME FREE, but live similar rights exist in your classes` — nobody owns the name, but
  someone nearby is registered where you operate. Read `similar_live_in_your_classes`.
- `FREE` — no live identical mark and no class overlap.

Then feed a `number` from any result into `tm_detail` to see what that right actually
covers, whether it was ever opposed, and how long it runs.

## Company lookup

A trademark search hands you a holder name. These three tools turn that into something you
can act on.

```
company_search("KIRKBI", land: "DK")
  → KIRKBI A/S · ACTIVE · register no. 18591235
    LEI 5493005XXPWUMR2E5305

company_detail("5493005XXPWUMR2E5305")
  → direct parent ..... none (top of its group, or the parent holds no LEI)
    subsidiaries ...... 2

vat_check("DK47458714")
  → valid · Lego System A/S · Åstvej 1, 7190 Billund
```

The two sources answer different questions, and neither is a company register:

- **GLEIF** is the global LEI database. It searches by name and exposes group structure,
  which no free company register does. Its limit is coverage: only entities that hold a
  LEI are in it. Large companies and anything active in financial markets almost always
  are; a lot of SMEs are not. **An empty result means no LEI, not no company.**
- **VIES** is the EU's VAT validation service. It confirms a number is live and returns the
  name and address the national tax authority holds — which makes it the stronger check
  when you already have the number. You cannot search it by name.

For a Dutch B.V. with no LEI there is no free, keyless source at all. That needs the KVK
handelsregister, which requires an account and, for production use, a paid plan.

## Dutch companies (optional, paid)

GLEIF stops at entities that hold a LEI, which leaves out most Dutch B.V.s. The four
`nl_company_*` tools close that gap through **Company.info** (Webservices.nl), a commercial
Handelsregister reseller. They are billed per query, so they stay disabled until you supply
credentials — and they are listed either way, so the assistant can tell you what to set
rather than silently returning nothing.

Configure them in your MCP client, never in this repository:

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ip-free": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "github:AI-AlexBaum/IP-MCP"],
      "env": {
        "COMPANYINFO_USERNAME": "your-user",
        "COMPANYINFO_PASSWORD": "your-password",
        "COMPANYINFO_WSDL_URL": "https://ws1.webservices.nl/soap_doclit"
      }
    }
  }
}
```

`COMPANYINFO_WSDL_URL` is optional and defaults to
`https://ws1.webservices.nl/soap_doclit.php`; a trailing `?wsdl` is stripped for you.

Called without credentials, every one of these tools returns an explicit *not configured*
error naming the variables to set. It never degrades into an empty result.

**The chain that makes this worth it:**

```
tm_clearance("SomeName")        → holder: Some Holding B.V.        (free)
nl_company_search("Some Holding") → KVK 12345678                    (paid, €)
nl_company_profile("12345678")  → all trade names, legal form, RSIN (paid, €)
nl_company_vat("12345678")      → NL123456789B01                    (paid, €)
vat_check("NL123456789B01")     → confirms name and address          (free)
nl_company_tree("12345678")     → who owns whom                      (paid, €)
```

`nl_company_profile` returns `all_trade_names`, and for trademark work that is the field
that matters most: in the Netherlands a trade name right arises from **use**, with no
registration to search. It is the one right a register sweep cannot find, and this is the
closest you get to it.

> **Privacy.** `nl_company_tree` returns names of natural persons — UBOs and directors.
> That is personal data under the GDPR. Do not pass it on more widely than the task needs,
> and do not paste it into anything public.
## National company registers

GLEIF covers only entities that hold a LEI. Most companies do not. So `eu_company_search`
goes straight to the national registers — the same data, at the source, free and without a
key. Leave `country` out and it queries all thirteen name-searchable registers
concurrently:

```
eu_company_search("Nordic", max_results: 1)
  → AT  Club Nordic POW GmbH        627228w        St. Anton am Arlberg
    CH  Nordic Bau GmbH i. L.       CHE-285.995.250  Signalstrasse 8, 9400 Rorschach
    CZ  Nordic Invest s.r.o.        01582119       Primátorská 296/38, 18000 Praha 8
    IE  NORDIC ENTERPRISE PARK …    365842         Unit 15, Midleton, Co. Cork
    LV  SIA "Nordic Superfoods AG"  40203536952    Sigulda, Rasas iela 9
    SI  ŠPORTNO DRUŠTVO BI NORDIC   1690663000     Vašca 7A, 4207 Cerklje
    DK … EE … FI … FR … LT … NO … SK …

  per_country: { AT: {in_register: 12, returned: 1}, CZ: {in_register: 65, returned: 1},
                 FI: {in_register: 3880, returned: 1}, … }
```

That `per_country` field is deliberate. Some of these registers ignore their own limit
parameter, so the cap is enforced client-side — and the response tells you both what the
register matched and what you were handed, rather than quietly truncating. Where a source
publishes no count at all, `in_register` reads `unknown` rather than `0`.

### What is covered

Sixteen countries, every one free and keyless. ✔ means the register can be searched by
name; ✔ in the number column means `eu_company_by_number` works.

| Country | Register | Identifier | Name | Number | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| **AT** | Firmenbuch via JustizOnline | Firmenbuchnummer | ✔ | ✔ | Name, status and registered seat — no street address |
| **CH** | Federal UID register (eCH-0108 SOAP) | UID (CHE) | ✔ | ✔ | Carries the CH.HR number and the MWST number |
| **CZ** | ARES (Ministry of Finance) | IČO | ✔ | ✔ | Returns the VAT number too |
| **DK** | CVR via cvrapi.dk | CVR | ✔ | — | Returns only the single best match |
| **EE** | Ariregister (RIK) | Registrikood | ✔ | — | Name and number only, no address |
| **FI** | PRH avoindata | Business ID | ✔ | — | Legal form in English, website |
| **FR** | recherche-entreprises (INSEE/RNE) | SIREN | ✔ | — | Includes VAT number |
| **IE** | CRO open data (CKAN) | CRO number | ✔ | ✔ | 822k companies, refreshed daily, CC-BY |
| **LT** | Registrų centras JAR via get.data.gov.lt | Juridinio asmens kodas | ✔ | ✔ | Status from the deregistration date; addresses empty |
| **LV** | Uzņēmumu reģistrs open data (CKAN) | Reģistrācijas numurs | ✔ | ✔ | CC0, daily; lists branches alongside companies |
| **MT** | Malta Business Registry open API | MBR number | — | ✔ | By number only, e.g. `C 10`; the list endpoint ignores filters |
| **NO** | Brønnøysund Enhetsregisteret | Org.nr | ✔ | — | Flags bankruptcy and liquidation |
| **PL** | VAT register (Ministry of Finance) | NIP / REGON | — | ✔ | By number only |
| **RO** | ANAF | CUI | — | ✔ | By CUI only; carries the ONRC number. 1 req/s |
| **SI** | AJPES PRS open data (CKAN) | Matična številka | ✔ | ✔ | No status column in the export, so `status` is `null` |
| **SK** | RPO (Statistical Office) | IČO | ✔ | — | Name and address history, current entry picked |

### Four more countries, free, without a register

VIES was built to validate VAT numbers, but four member states release the registered name
and address through it. Where the national register is shut, `vat_check` is still a free
number-to-name look-up:

| Country | Give it | Note |
|---|---|---|
| **PT** | the NIPC | The NIPC *is* the VAT number, so this is a register look-up in all but name |
| **IT** | the partita IVA | Registro Imprese itself is paid |
| **HR** | the OIB | sudreg-api needs credentials you have to apply for |
| **SI** | the davčna številka | Adds the address the AJPES export already gives |

`eu_company_sources` lists this as `vies_number_to_name`, and asking
`eu_company_by_number` for one of these countries says so in the refusal instead of
returning nothing.

### What is not covered, and why

Every European country was probed. These have no free keyless register, and
`eu_company_sources` returns the list with a reason each, so an empty result is never read
as "no such company":

BE, BG, CY, DE, ES, GR, HR, HU, IS, IT, LU, NL, PT, SE, UK.

Five are worth knowing about specifically. **UK** Companies House is free but needs a
(free) API key — the single biggest win available for an afternoon's paperwork. **GR** and
**HR** likewise need an application. **SE** is paid *and* no Swedish API supports search by
name at any price. **NL** needs a paid subscription — see the `nl_company_*` tools if you
have one. **IS** has the data but its licence forbids passing it on, which is precisely
what this server does, so it is left alone.

BE, CY and the Swedish and Romanian *name* indexes exist only as bulk downloads, 22 MB to
690 MB. Ingesting those would make this a database rather than a live look-up, so it is
deliberately out of scope: a server that answers from a four-week-old copy without saying
so is the exact failure this project was built against.

## Tool reference

### `tm_clearance`
| Param | Type | Default | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| `name` | string | *required* | The name to clear |
| `nice_classes` | int[] | `[9, 42]` | Your classes — 9 is software, 42 is SaaS |

### `tm_search`
| Param | Type | Default | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| `query` | string | *required* | Substring search on the verbal element |
| `offices` | string[] | `["EM","BX"]` | Register codes, e.g. `["EM","BX","DE"]` |
| `worldwide` | boolean | `false` | Search every TMview register instead |
| `live_only` | boolean | `true` | Drop expired, refused, withdrawn, cancelled |
| `nice_classes` | int[] | — | Keep only marks touching these classes |
| `max_results` | int | `50` | Results are truncated, `truncated` says by how many |

Exact name matches are flagged with `exact_name` and sorted to the top.

### `tm_detail`
| Param | Type | Default | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| `number` | string | *required* | EU application number, e.g. `000039800`. Non-digits are stripped and the number is zero-padded to 9. EU marks only. |

### `tm_offices`
No parameters. Returns every register code with its name.

### `company_search`
| Param | Type | Default | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| `name` | string | *required* | Company name or part of it |
| `country` | string | — | ISO country code to narrow by, e.g. `DE`, `NL` |
| `max_results` | int | `10` | Capped at 50 |

### `company_detail`
| Param | Type | Default | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| `lei` | string | *required* | 20-character LEI, e.g. `5493005XXPWUMR2E5305` |

Returns the entity plus `direct_parent`, `ultimate_parent` and `children`. Only
relationships where **both** entities hold a LEI are visible.

### `vat_check`
| Param | Type | Default | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| `vat_number` | string | *required* | With country code, e.g. `NL123456789B01` |
| `country` | string | — | Country code, if it is not part of `vat_number` |

### `eu_company_search`
| Param | Type | Default | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| `name` | string | *required* | Company name or part of it |
| `country` | string | — | One ISO code. Omit to query all thirteen name-searchable registers at once |
| `max_results` | int | `10` | Per country, capped at 50. Enforced client-side — see `per_country` |

Returns `results` (flat, one shape per row), `per_country` with `in_register` and
`returned`, `registers_unreachable` for any source that failed, and
`skipped_no_name_search` for a country you asked for that only supports look-up by number.

### `eu_company_by_number`
| Param | Type | Default | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| `country` | string | *required* | ISO code, e.g. `CZ`, `CH`, `RO`, `MT` |
| `number` | string | *required* | The national identifier. Non-digits are stripped where the register expects digits; Malta's space is inserted for you |

Returns `result`, plus `also_under_this_number` when a register holds more than one record
for the same identifier — a Swiss UID covers the enterprise and its establishments, and
dropping the extras silently would lose real information.

### `eu_company_sources`

No parameters. Returns `free_registers` (16), `no_free_api` with a reason per country,
`vies_number_to_name` (4), and `also_available`.

### `nl_company_search` (paid)
| Param | Type | Default | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| `name` | string | — | Trade name or part of it |
| `city` | string | — | City |
| `postal_code` | string | — | Postcode |
| `domain` | string | — | Domain name, e.g. `example.nl` |
| `kvk_number` | string | — | KVK number, if you already have it |
| `strict` | boolean | `false` | Exact rather than partial match |
| `page` | int | `1` | 20 results per page; the service caps totals at 500 |

At least one of `name`, `kvk_number` or `domain` is required.

### `nl_company_profile` (paid)
| Param | Type | Default | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| `kvk_number` | string | *required* | 8-digit KVK number |
| `establishment_number` | string | — | For one specific establishment |

### `nl_company_vat` / `nl_company_tree` (paid)
| Param | Type | Default | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| `kvk_number` | string | *required* | 8-digit KVK number |

Country codes are validated before the call, so a typo fails locally instead of returning a
meaningless *invalid*. Greece is accepted as either `GR` or `EL`.

## How it works

Public endpoints, no authentication on any of them:

- **TMview** (`tmdn.org`) — the shared search service of EUIPO and the national offices.
  Covers EU, Benelux, all EU member states, EFTA, WIPO international registrations and a
  long tail beyond Europe. Paged 100 records at a time, up to 10 pages per query.
- **EUIPO eSearch** (`euipo.europa.eu/copla`) — the same case-file data the public eSearch
  UI renders, including goods-and-services text and the opposition history.
- **GLEIF** (`api.gleif.org`) — the official LEI register. Company identity, national
  registration numbers, and the parent/child relationships that make up a group.
- **EU VIES** (`ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/vies`) — VAT number validation, returning the
  name and address on file with the national tax authority.
- **Sixteen national company registers** — AT, CH, CZ, DK, EE, FI, FR, IE, LT, LV, MT, NO,
  PL, RO, SI and SK, each queried at its own source and normalised into one shape. Field
  names are aligned; source coverage is not, so each row names the register it came from.
  Three of them (IE, LV, SI) are CKAN datastores and share one client; Switzerland speaks
  doc-literal SOAP and is reached with a hand-built envelope, like Company.info.

One optional paid source, used only if you configure it:

- **Company.info / Webservices.nl** (`ws1.webservices.nl`) — the Dutch Handelsregister over
  SOAP. Reached with a hand-built envelope and a small XML parser, so the server keeps its
  zero-dependency promise.

Three decisions shape every answer:

1. **Live vs dead.** A right only counts if its status is one of *Registered, Filed,
   Application published, Application accepted, Opposition period, Expiring, Registration
   pending*. Everything else — *Ended, Expired, Withdrawn, Refused, Cancelled* — blocks
   nothing, so it is reported separately rather than silently dropped.
2. **Exact vs similar.** Names are compared with case, spaces and punctuation removed, so
   `NorthWind`, `NORTHWIND` and `north-wind` are one name. Everything else that came back
   is a look-alike, and only matters where the classes overlap.
3. **Failures stay loud.** Each request retries three times with backoff; if a source is
   unreachable the tool returns an explicit error. It never converts a failed lookup into
   an empty result set.

Every response names the source it came from in a `source` field.

## Nice classes worth knowing

| Class | Covers |
|---|---|
| 9 | Software, downloadable programs, apps |
| 35 | Advertising, business administration, data processing |
| 36 | Insurance, financial services |
| 37 | Vehicle maintenance and repair |
| 38 | Telecommunications, network access |
| 39 | Transport, fleet logistics |
| 42 | SaaS, software development, IT services |

For most software products, clearing 9 and 42 is the minimum — hence the default.

## Limits and caveats

- **This is register data, not legal advice.** It tells you what is on file. Whether a mark
  is infringed, or a name registrable, is a call for a trademark attorney.
- **Registers lag.** TMview statuses trail the source registers. Confirm any live right
  that matters with `tm_detail`, which reads EUIPO directly.
- **Unregistered rights are invisible here.** In the Netherlands a trade name right arises
  from use alone (*handelsnaamrecht*), with no registration to find. An empty result is not
  proof a name is unused.
- **`tm_detail` is EU-only.** National case files are not exposed through this endpoint.
- **Company coverage is uneven.** GLEIF only holds entities with a LEI, so many SMEs are
  missing entirely, and a `LAPSED` LEI status means the identifier was not renewed — the
  company itself may well still trade. VIES needs the VAT number up front. Neither
  replaces a national company register.
- **Responses use one flat, normalised shape** across every source. Every record names
  the register it came from in a `source` field.
- **The endpoints are public but undocumented.** They power the TMview and eSearch web
  UIs. They are free and need no key, and they can change without notice. Be considerate
  with request volume.
- **Patents are out of scope.** Trademarks only.
- **The paid tools cost money per call.** Each `nl_company_*` invocation is a billed query.
  They are deliberately separate tools rather than one fat call, so every charge is a
  decision you made.
- **National registers differ in freshness and depth.** The fields are normalised, the
  coverage is not. Estonia returns no address, Denmark returns one match rather than a list,
  Austria gives the registered seat but no street, Lithuania's address columns are empty,
  and Slovenia's export has no status column at all — so Slovenian rows report `status:
  null` rather than assume "active". Each register updates on its own schedule. A hit in one
  country says nothing about another.
- **Two of the sources are not documented APIs.** Austria's JustizOnline endpoint is the
  courts' own application backend, and Malta's registry sits behind a WAF that rejects
  unrecognised `User-Agent` strings and throttles bursts. Both work today; treat both as
  liable to change, and keep request volume low.
- **Some status codes are reported raw rather than guessed at.** Switzerland's eCH-0108
  status has seven values; only 3 (active) and 5 (ended) are confirmed against live
  records, so anything else comes back as `eCH-0108 code N`. Inventing a label would be
  worse than saying you do not know.

## Development

```bash
npm run smoke     # 24 checks over stdio against the live registers
node --check src/index.js
```

The whole server is one dependency-free file, `src/index.js`: an HTTP helper with retries,
one function per tool, the JSON-RPC tool schemas, and a line-buffered stdio loop. Requests
are handled concurrently and the process stays alive until every in-flight call has
answered.

## License

MIT — see [LICENSE](LICENSE).