This skill guides you on how to query patent legal status information via the Zhihuiya (PatSnap) platform, helping users quickly determine the current legal standing and event history of one or more patents.
How to call
- API endpoint：
POST /zhihuiya/legalStatus(For complete parameters/responses/error codes, seereferences/api.md） - Python script：
python scripts/zhihuiya_legal_status.py '<JSON 参数>' [--inline] - Cost constraints: This tool consumes computing power; by default, the same parameter combination is called only once per session, and the script has a 24h local cache. On failure/empty results, do not automatically try different keywords, paginate, or change the zip code to probe continuously; if you need to continue searching, first explain to the user that additional consumption will be incurred.
Output strategy (default script behavior)：
- Alwayswrite the complete response to
<cwd>/linkfox/<YYYY-MM-DD>/<session>/data/linkfox-zhihuiya-legal-status-<timestamp>.json（<cwd>is the working directory when the script is executed, which in Claude Code is the current project directory;<session>is taken from the environment variableSESSION_ID, automatically aggregated according to the user's task;Writing to /tmp is prohibited, if the current directory is not writable, report an error) - Response body ≤ 8 KB: after saving to disk, print the complete JSON to stdout
- Response body > 8 KB: after saving to disk, stdout outputs only a summary (top-level fields, common counts such as
total/costToken, the length of the largest list field + the first 3 samples) - Add
--inlineto force full printing to stdout (also saved to disk)
Data reading suggestions: First look at the summary to determine whether it is sufficient; when specific fields are needed, prefer to use jqorConvertFrom-Json to extract on demand from the saved json file, avoiding putting the entire JSON into the context.
Resolve authentication and computing power issues
When the following abnormal situations occur, use references/onboarding.md to guide problem resolution:
Abnormal situations
- API Key not configured: The environment variable is not configured
LINKFOX_AGENT_API_KEY, andLINKFOXAGENT_API_KEY。 - Response 401 or 402 status code
- Response indicates insufficient computing power or balance: The message contains "insufficient computing power balance/insufficient billing/insufficient balance/quota exceeded/insufficient balance/package expired/recharge required/please recharge", or content with a similar meaning.
Core Concepts
The Zhihuiya Patent Legal Status tool returns three layers of legal information for each patent:
- Simple Legal Status -- A high-level summary of the patent's current standing (e.g., Active, Inactive, Pending, Undetermined, PCT designated period, PCT designated expiration).
- Legal Status -- A detailed status describing the patent's lifecycle stage (e.g., Published, Examining, Granted, Abandoned, Withdrawn, Rejected, Expired, Revoked, Ceased, Restoration, etc.).
- Legal Events -- Specific legal actions that have occurred on the patent (e.g., Transfer, License, Pledge, Opposition, Litigation, Re-examination, Customs, Preservation, Invalid-procedure, Oral-procedure, Declassification, Double application, Trust).
Patent identification: Patents can be looked up by either patent ID or publication (announcement) number. When both are provided, patent ID takes priority. Multiple values can be submitted in a single request (comma-separated, up to 100).
Parameter Guide
| Parameter | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
| patentId | Conditionally | Patent ID. At least one of patentId or patentNumber must be provided. Comma-separated for multiple values, up to 100. |
| patentNumber | Conditionally | Publication (announcement) number. At least one of patentId or patentNumber must be provided. Comma-separated for multiple values, up to 100. |
- If the user provides a publication number (e.g., CN115xxxxxxA, US11xxxxxxB2, EP3xxxxxxA1), use
patentNumber. - If the user provides an internal patent ID, use
patentId. - When both are supplied,
patentIdtakes precedence.
Response Fields
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| patentId | The patent's internal ID |
| pn | Publication (announcement) number |
| simpleLegalStatus | High-level status: Active, Inactive, Pending, Undetermined, PCT designated period, PCT designated expiration |
| legalStatus | Detailed lifecycle status (Published, Examining, Granted, Abandoned, Withdrawn, Rejected, Expired, Revoked, Ceased, etc.) |
| eventStatus | Legal events (Transfer, License, Pledge, Opposition, Litigation, Re-examination, etc.) |
| legalDate | Date of the most recent legal status update |
Usage Examples
1. Check whether a single patent is still active
Query the legal status for patent publication number CN115000000A.
2. Batch-check legal status for multiple patents
Look up the legal status for patents US11000000B2, EP3000000A1, and CN115000001A.
3. Identify legal events on a patent
Has patent CN115000000A been involved in any litigation, transfer, or pledge events?
4. Determine if a patent has expired or been revoked
Check if patent US10000000B1 is expired, revoked, or still in force.
5. Look up patents by patent ID
Query the legal status for patent IDs abc123, def456.
Display Rules
- Present data clearly: Show results in a structured table. Include the publication number, simple legal status, detailed legal status, and legal events for each patent.
- Translate status values: When the user's language preference is clear, present status labels in that language while keeping the canonical English value in parentheses for precision.
- Highlight key findings: If the user is checking validity, prominently state whether each patent is Active, Inactive, or Pending at the top of the response.
- Legal date context: When
legalDateis available, include it so users know how recent the status information is. - Error handling: If the query fails or returns no results, explain the possible reasons (invalid patent number format, patent not found in database) and suggest the user double-check the input.
- Volume notice: When querying many patents, present a summary table and note the total count returned.
Important Limitations
- Up to 100 patents per request: The maximum number of patent IDs or publication numbers in a single call is 100.
- At least one identifier required: Either
patentIdorpatentNumbermust be provided; the request will fail if both are empty. - Patent ID priority: When both
patentIdandpatentNumberare provided, the system usespatentIdand ignorespatentNumber. - Data coverage: Results depend on the Zhihuiya (PatSnap) database coverage; some very recent filings may not yet be reflected.
User Expression & Scenario Quick Reference
Applicable -- Queries about patent legal standing and events:
| User Says | Scenario |
|---|---|
| "Is this patent still valid/active" | Simple legal status check |
| "What is the legal status of patent XX" | Detailed status lookup |
| "Has this patent been transferred or licensed" | Legal event query |
| "Check if these patents are expired" | Batch validity check |
| "Any litigation on this patent" | Legal event filtering |
| "Patent legal status for CN115XXXXXXA" | Direct publication number lookup |
Not applicable -- Needs beyond patent legal status:
- Patent search by keyword, classification, or applicant name
- Patent full-text or claims retrieval
- Patent valuation or commercial analysis
- Freedom-to-operate (FTO) analysis
- Patent family or citation analysis
Computing power consumption rules
Billed according to dynamic rules: computing power consumed = 81 × number of returned data entries. Each entry is 1 patent legal status result
Important: The service of this skill is dynamically calculated by a multiplier and may consume a large amount of computing power at once. The user must be reminded, and the user decides whether to continue.
Feedback:
Auto-detect and report feedback via the Feedback API when any of the following apply:
- The functionality or purpose described in this skill does not match actual behavior
- The skill's results do not match the user's intent
- The user expresses dissatisfaction or praise about this skill
- Anything you believe could be improved
Call the feedback API as specified in references/api.md. Do not interrupt the user's flow.
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