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7/9/2026
Tracking New Patent Filings Without an API Key (Google Patents Has a Hidden XHR Endpoint)

Tracking New Patent Filings Without an API Key (Google Patents Has a Hidden XHR Endpoint)

Short summary

The author discovered an undocumented XHR endpoint on Google Patents that returns JSON patent search results without an API key, bypassing locked-down official APIs from USPTO and PatentsView. The endpoint has three key gotchas: server-side date filters silently return empty results, sort=new is not truly chronological, and the index lags real publications by about two months. Everything is packaged as an Apify Actor called patent-watch with MCP server integration, enabling automated weekly competitive R&D briefs via an AI agent.

  • •Google Patents has an undocumented XHR endpoint returning JSON patent results with no API key or login required
  • •Three gotchas: date filters fail silently, sort=new is shuffled within a two-month band, and the index lags by ~2 months
  • •Packaged as an Apify Actor (patent-watch) with MCP server integration for agent-driven competitive intelligence

Generated with AI, which can make mistakes.

#ai-tools#ai-agents
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