USPTO Office Action Citations API (beta) (will be decommissioned on January 30, 2026)

v1 | Patents

This API allows for retrieval of citation data from 4.4 million Office actions mailed during the 2008 to mid-2017 period from USPTO examiners to the applicants of 2.2 million unique patent applications. It uses information derived from citations referenced on the Form PTO-892, Form PTO-1449, and text of Office actions.


Notice: By January 2026, this API will be decommissioned, as part of an overall effort to decommission the Open Data Portal Beta site/Developer Hub. However, this API has been replaced by a newer version, USPTO Office Actions Citations API v2, which will be migrated onto the new Open Data Portal.  To learn more about the new Open Data Portal and sign up for updates, visit data.uspto.gov.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Office Action Research Dataset for Patents contains detailed information derived from the Office actions issued by patent examiners to applicants during the patent examination process. The “Office action” is a written notification to the applicant of the examiner’s decision on patentability. It generally discloses the reasons for any rejections, objections, or requirements and includes relevant information or references that the applicant may find useful for responding to the examiner and deciding whether to continue prosecuting the application.

This API allows for retrieval of citation data from 4.4 million Office actions mailed during the 2008 to mid-2017 period from USPTO examiners to the applicants of 2.2 million unique patent applications.  It uses information derived from citations referenced on the Form PTO-892, Form PTO-1449, and text of Office actions. 

Mar 01, 2018

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