Getting started
What is Priorbit?
A US patent and trademark database that AI agents call directly. It serves granted patents with full claims, published applications, trademarks in every status, owners and inventors linked across both, live USPTO documents and drawings, and e-commerce product pages, over the Model Context Protocol (MCP). Your agent searches, verifies and cites; Priorbit returns records with their source and as-of date.
Do I need to code?
No. You install a plugin or add a connector URL once, then ask questions in plain language in the AI app you already use. The agent decides which tools to call.
Which AI apps work with it?
Any MCP client. Tested paths: Claude Code and Codex (install the plugin priorbit@lawless), Claude desktop / Cowork (plugin plus a custom connector pointed at https://patdb-mcp-production.up.railway.app/mcp), and Cursor, Windsurf or claude.ai by adding that URL as a remote MCP server. Install steps are on the Documents page.
Cowork vs Codex vs Claude Code — what is different?
The database and tools are identical. The difference is how each app loads them. Claude Code and Codex read the plugin, which brings both the MCP connection and the skill. Cowork loads the plugin's skill but does not open the plugin's remote connection, so you add Priorbit once more as a connector and switch it on in the task's connector menu. Cowork and claude.ai reach us through Anthropic's cloud, so our logs see Anthropic's data-centre location rather than yours.
Plugin, MCP server, playbooks — which is which?
The MCP server is the database endpoint with ten read-only tools. The plugin (github.com/Lawless-Inc/priorbit) is a small package that tells your agent the server exists and includes a skill: rules for when to use it and how to report. Playbooks are step-by-step workflows the server itself hands to the agent (get_playbook, free): FTO, prior art, brand trace, patent check-up, design comparison, trademark clearance and invalidity, each with "done when" criteria.
Data
What does the database cover?
US granted patents, 9.73 million, 1976 → 2026-09-29, with full claims; US published applications, 8.70 million, 2001 → 2026-09-24, with official status; US trademarks, 14.35 million in all statuses, 1976 → 2026-09-29. Plus live USPTO documents, drawings, prosecution file wrappers (office actions and responses), PTAB trials, and assignment records.
How fresh is it?
Bulk USPTO records are refreshed in batches, roughly weekly but not on a fixed day, so the loaded-through date is usually one to two weeks behind the latest USPTO issue. The current date is shown live on the status page; that value is authoritative, not any date printed in these pages. On top of that, when you ask about a specific patent or mark, the server checks the USPTO live at query time for status, maintenance fees, term adjustments and post-grant events. Each answer carries its as-of date.
How is "status" computed?
Two layers. First the bulk record: grant date, type, maintenance-fee events and expiry rules give a baseline. Second a live USPTO check on the records you ask about: term adjustments, reissue surrender, reexamination certificates, abandonment. Patents inside their expiry window without a live confirmation are labelled likely expired rather than removed; search results drop only records that are certainly out of term. If the two layers disagree, the result says so (status_check.conflict) so you can read both.
What is not included?
Non-US rights (EP, CN, JP, WIPO), court and ITC litigation records, and image-similarity search of drawings or logos. Office actions and PTAB trials are covered. If a question needs any of the excluded sources, the agent should say so and use another tool. Coming soon: European patents (EPO), Chinese patents (CNIPA), a Shopify app and a WordPress plugin.
Trust
Is this legal advice?
No. Priorbit returns public records with their source and date; the results are research leads for you and, where it matters, your attorney. A search that finds nothing does not mean nothing exists. Lawless is not a law firm and using Priorbit creates no attorney-client relationship.
Are my searches confidential?
Query text is not written to the call log; we log which tool ran, when, its status and latency, the result count, a country code and your account key. Your work-in-progress record (search terms, product description, results) is readable only by your account and deleted after 30 days without use. We do not train models on your data. Details, including the third parties involved in two tools, are on the Security page.
Can I cite it in a memo?
Cite the official record, not Priorbit. Every result carries official_links to the USPTO source (Patent Center, the PDF, assignment records; TSDR for marks) and an as-of date. Quote claims verbatim from get_patents with patent and claim number, and keep the get_search_log output as the record of what was searched.
Billing
How do credits work?
Each tool call costs a fixed number of credits: searches and drawings 2, record lookups and owner resolution 1, product-page fetch 5, playbooks, search log and class lookups 0. Failed calls cost nothing. Your plan gives a monthly allowance that resets on the 1st (UTC); unused credits do not roll over. See Pricing.
What is free, and what happens at 0?
Go is free: 200 credits a month, no card — enough for status checks and a dozen knockout searches; a full FTO screening needs Plus. When an account reaches 0, chargeable tools return a clear message instead of results until the next reset or an upgrade; free tools keep working. There is no overage billing. Upgrades take effect at once; you can cancel a paid plan anytime and it stays active to the end of the paid period.
Support
How do I get help?
Email zhiyuanren@uselawless.com. We answer within one business day. For something that looks like an outage, check Status first; for security issues see Security.
上手
Priorbit 是什么？
一个供 AI 智能体直接调用的美国专利商标数据库。通过 MCP（Model Context Protocol）提供带完整权利要求的授权专利、公开申请、全部状态的商标、跨两库关联的权利人与发明人、USPTO 实时文件与附图，以及电商商品页。智能体负责检索、核验和引用；Priorbit 返回带来源和截止日期的记录。
需要写代码吗？
不需要。安装一次插件或添加一次连接器地址，然后在你已经在用的 AI 应用里用自然语言提问即可，调用哪个工具由智能体决定。
支持哪些 AI 应用？
任何 MCP 客户端。已验证的路径：Claude Code 和 Codex（安装插件 priorbit@lawless）、Claude 桌面版 / Cowork（插件加一个指向 https://patdb-mcp-production.up.railway.app/mcp 的自定义连接器），以及 Cursor、Windsurf、claude.ai（把该地址添加为远程 MCP 服务器）。安装步骤见文档页。
Cowork、Codex、Claude Code 有什么不同？
数据库和工具完全一样，区别在各应用如何加载。Claude Code 和 Codex 读取插件，插件同时带来 MCP 连接和技能。Cowork 会加载插件的技能，但不会打开插件自带的远程连接，所以要再把 Priorbit 添加一次为连接器，并在任务的连接器菜单里打开它。Cowork 和 claude.ai 经 Anthropic 云端到达我们，所以日志里看到的是 Anthropic 机房所在地而不是你的位置。
插件、MCP 服务器、工作手册分别是什么？
MCP 服务器是数据库端点，提供十个只读工具。插件（github.com/Lawless-Inc/priorbit）是一个小包，告诉智能体服务器的存在并附带一个技能：何时使用、如何汇报的规则。工作手册是服务器自己交给智能体的分步工作流（get_playbook，免费）：FTO、现有技术、品牌溯源、专利体检、外观比对、商标清查和无效，每个都有"完成标准"。
数据
数据库覆盖什么？
美国授权专利 973 万件（1976 → 2026-09-29，含完整权利要求）；美国公开申请 870 万件（2001 → 2026-09-24，含官方状态）；美国商标 1,435 万件，全部状态（1976 → 2026-09-29）。另有 USPTO 实时文件、附图、审查档案（审查意见与答复）、PTAB 程序和转让记录。
数据有多新？
USPTO 批量记录分批更新，大致每周一次但没有固定日期，所以数据截至日期通常比 USPTO 最新一期晚一到两周。当前的截至日期以状态页实时显示为准，不以这些页面里印的日期为准。此外，当你询问某件具体的专利或商标时，服务器会在查询时实时向 USPTO 核对状态、维持费、期限调整和授权后事件。每条回答都带截止日期。
"状态"是怎么算出来的？
两层。第一层是批量记录：授权日、类型、维持费事件和到期规则给出基线。第二层是对你询问的记录做 USPTO 实时核对：期限调整、再颁交回、复审证书、放弃。处于到期窗口内又没有实时确认的专利标为likely expired（可能已到期）而不是直接剔除；检索结果只剔除确定不在保护期的记录。两层不一致时，结果会标明（status_check.conflict），让你两种读法都看到。
不包含什么？
非美国的权利（EP、CN、JP、WIPO）、法院和 ITC 诉讼记录，以及附图或图形商标的图像相似度检索。审查意见和 PTAB 程序在覆盖范围内。如果问题需要上述未覆盖的来源，智能体应当说明并使用其他工具。 即将推出：欧洲专利（EPO）、中国专利（CNIPA）、Shopify 应用和 WordPress 插件。
信任
这是法律意见吗？
不是。Priorbit 返回带来源和日期的公开记录；结果是供你以及（在需要时）你的律师参考的研究线索。检索不到不等于不存在。Lawless 不是律师事务所，使用 Priorbit 不构成律师与客户关系。
我的检索保密吗？
检索内容不写入调用日志；我们记录哪个工具在何时运行、状态和耗时、结果条数、国家代码和你的账号键。进行中的工作记录（检索条件、产品描述、结果）只有你的账号能读，30 天不用自动删除。我们不用你的数据训练模型。细节（包括两个工具涉及的第三方）见安全页。
可以在备忘录里引用吗？
引用官方记录，而不是 Priorbit。每条结果都带指向 USPTO 来源的 official_links（Patent Center、PDF、转让记录；商标为 TSDR）和截止日期。权利要求请从 get_patents 原文引用并注明专利号和权利要求号，并保留 get_search_log 的输出作为检索过程的记录。
计费
积分怎么算？
每次工具调用扣固定积分：检索和附图 2，记录查询和权利人解析 1，商品页抓取 5，工作手册、检索记录和分类号查询 0。失败的调用不扣。方案给出每月额度，每月 1 日（UTC）重置；未用完不结转。见价格。
什么是免费的？积分到 0 会怎样？
Go 免费：每月 200 积分，无需银行卡——够做状态核查和十来次商标初筛；完整的 FTO 筛查需要 Plus。账号到 0 时，计费工具会返回明确提示而不是结果，直到下次重置或升级；免费工具照常可用。没有超额计费。升级立即生效；付费方案可随时取消，在已付周期结束前保持有效。
支持
如何获得帮助？
发邮件到 zhiyuanren@uselawless.com，我们在一个工作日内回复。疑似服务中断请先看服务状态；安全问题见安全页。