Weekly USPTO Patent Tracker to Google Sheets

PromptCreate

Build a code workflow that maintains a running Google Sheets log of every new US patent or pre-grant publication tied to a watch list of inventors and assignees. The watch list and the destination spreadsheet should be configurable inputs on the workflow.

Trigger: a cron schedule that fires every Monday at 7am in the workflow owner's timezone. Use a cron trigger because PatentsView does not support poll triggers.

On each run, call USPTO PatentsView "Search Granted Patents" and "Search Pre-Grant Publications" in parallel. For each call, build a q that uses _and to combine: (1) a date range filter, patent_date >= today minus 7 days for granted patents and app_filing_date >= today minus 7 days for pre-grant publications, and (2) an _or block that matches any configured inventor (inventors.inventor_name_first / inventors.inventor_name_last) or any configured assignee organization (assignees.assignee_organization). Use the array-equals-OR shorthand on each field. Pass o.size = 1000 and request only the fields needed for the output columns plus a sortable key in f. Sort on the patent identifier so cursor pagination via o.after works if a single week exceeds 1000 results.

Map each result into a row with these columns: patent_id, type ("granted" or "pg-pub"), title, filed_date, granted_date (blank for pre-grant), inventor_names (comma-joined), assignee, abstract, USPTO link (build the deep link from the patent identifier). Combine results from both endpoints into one batch.

Then call Google Sheets "Append Values" once to append the full batch of new rows to the configured spreadsheet and tab. Use USER_ENTERED so dates parse correctly. If there are zero results, do not call Append Values; just log that the run found nothing.

No dedupe logic is needed: the rolling 7-day filter guarantees each row is new since the prior Monday. Honor the PatentsView 45 requests per minute rate limit; this workflow makes at most a handful of calls per run so a small client-side throttle is sufficient. On a 429 from PatentsView, back off and retry.

What does this prompt do?

Every Monday at 7am, sweeps the US patent system for any new grants or applications tied to the people and companies on your watch list.
Captures the patent title, abstract, filing and grant dates, inventor names, assignee, and a direct USPTO link for each result.
Appends each new record as a row in your Google Sheet, building a permanent, sortable patent intelligence log your team can share.
Covers both fully granted patents and pre-grant publications, so you see filings before they issue and grants the moment they land.

What do I need to use this?

A free USPTO PatentsView API key from the USPTO Open Data Portal
A Google account with edit access to the destination spreadsheet
A list of inventor names and assignee organizations you want to track

How can I customize it?

Change the day or time it runs, for example switch to a daily sweep or move it to Friday afternoon.
Add or remove inventors and companies on the watch list as portfolios or competitor sets evolve.
Add columns like patent classification codes or claim counts, or drop columns you do not need.

FAQs

How long does the USPTO take to issue an API key?

Usually a few minutes. You sign up at the USPTO Open Data Portal, verify your identity, and request a key from your account dashboard. The key arrives by email and never expires.

Will I get duplicate rows if the same patent shows up two weeks in a row?

No. The workflow only asks for patents filed or granted in the last seven days each Monday, so each weekly batch is fresh by construction. Nothing the prior run logged can show up again.

Can I track foreign patents too?

Not with this workflow. The USPTO data source covers US patents and US patent applications only. If you need WIPO or EPO coverage, you would need a separate data source.

What if my watch list includes a very common inventor name?

You will see more results than you expect. The simplest fix is to also list the assignee organization those people work for, so a row only logs when both the name and the company match. You can also add columns to spot check the matches and prune false positives by hand.

Does this cost anything to run?

The USPTO PatentsView API is free, and Google Sheets is included with any Google account. You only pay for the workflow run itself, which is a few cents per Monday.

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