Global Patent Search: USPTO, CNIPA, JPO, EPO and WIPO Tools

If you are looking for a patent office's official website or search service, use the official links below. Different tools answer different questions: finding a published document, checking an application, reviewing an ownership record and obtaining data through an API are separate tasks.

This is an independent guide from CNIPA.AI. We are not USPTO, CNIPA, JPO, EPO or WIPO, and this page is not an official government service. The public entry points were checked on September 23, 2026; follow each service's current access requirements.

Find the guide for your task

• USPTO: U.S. publications, application status and data access.
• CNIPA: Chinese patent identifiers, search terms and official records.
• JPO / J-PlatPat: Japanese publications and English translations.
• EPO: Espacenet, the European Patent Register and OPS.
• WIPO: PATENTSCOPE and PCT publications.

These guides keep document searching separate from filing and rights-status questions. Official entry points remain listed below.

United States: USPTO Patent Public Search, Patent Center and ODP

The United States Patent and Trademark Office directs users to Patent Public Search for U.S. patents and published applications. Its Basic interface supports keywords and common fields; Advanced provides more detailed queries, filtering and document-management tools.

For background on the institution and its patent and trademark responsibilities, read What is the USPTO?.

For an application-status question, use Patent Center. For programmatic data and file-wrapper research, begin with the Open Data Portal, which publishes separate data products and API documentation. An internal request observed in a browser is not automatically a supported public API.

See our USPTO search, status and data guide for the distinction between these services and ownership-record searches.

China: CNIPA search, publications and examination information

The China National Intellectual Property Administration lists separate entrances for Patent Search and Analysis, patent publications and examination information.

Our CNIPA introduction explains the administration's responsibilities and the distinction between the agency and CNIPA.AI.

Start with the type of identifier you have—application, publication or grant-publication number—or prepare applicant names and technical keywords. Keep Chinese and English name variants separate until you have checked the underlying documents. For legal-status questions, retain the source, date and relevant events rather than relying only on a short label in a search result.

Our Chinese patent search guide explains the search preparation and document checks. CNIPA.AI's similar name does not indicate an affiliation with the official office.

Japan: JPO and INPIT's J-PlatPat

The Japan Patent Office, 特許庁, publishes information about Japan's patent system and procedures. Its homepage directs users who want to search patents and other industrial-property information to J-PlatPat, the information service provided by INPIT.

Use the relevant patent/utility-model search or number-inquiry function, and distinguish a public patent document from filing instructions or fees. The INPIT manuals explain the search interfaces. A Japanese filing question belongs with the current JPO guidance, not merely a document-search result.

If your next task is preparing documents, our Japanese application guide separates the draft documents from actual filing.

For document retrieval rather than drafting, use the JPO and J-PlatPat search guide.

Europe: EPO Espacenet and the European Patent Register

The European Patent Office's search portal separates technical, legal and other patent information. It provides quick access to Espacenet for patent-document searching and the European Patent Register for procedural and legal information.

Choose the tool according to the question. Finding a technical document does not by itself establish current enforceable rights in a particular country. Read the relevant record, its territorial context and dates, and follow any national-register references needed for the matter.

Our EPO tool-selection guide explains the distinction and links to CNIPA.AI's EP-scope search and identifier-based tools.

International publications: WIPO PATENTSCOPE

WIPO's PATENTSCOPE information page describes access to published PCT applications, documents from participating national and regional offices, and non-patent literature. The PATENTSCOPE search interface supports several kinds of search criteria; use its documentation for the syntax and current coverage.

A PCT publication is not a worldwide patent grant. WIPO's PCT FAQ explains the international procedure and the role of national or regional offices. Do not assume that one database includes every document or establishes legal status everywhere.

The PATENTSCOPE guide covers publication identifiers, participating collections and the limits of a WO result.

Choose a service from the question you need to answer

• “Where is this publication?” Identify the number type and use document search or the publication service.
• “What happened in this application?” Use the appropriate application record, file wrapper or register.
• “Who owns it?” Check the relevant ownership/assignment records and dates; an applicant field is not the whole history.
• “How do I retrieve data in software?” Start with the office's documented APIs, account requirements and terms. Search-interface URLs are not a substitute for an API contract.
• “Can I patent or use this invention?” Define the legal and technical question and collect the necessary evidence. A list of similar documents alone does not answer it.

Keep a record you can check later

Save the service, date, exact query, filters, complete document identifiers and relevant passages. Our patent search log template helps record those details and the scope you have not checked.

You can also use CNIPA.AI's search workspace to organize research within its available data coverage. Select the intended jurisdiction and verify important findings against the relevant official source. Our interface does not imply a live connection to every service listed here, and it does not replace official filing or rights records.