Google Patents Owner & Assignee Lookup

🔍 Google Patents Owner & Assignee Lookup is a powerful Apify Actor designed to discover and collect patent records directly from Google Patents by assignee (owner) name. This tool provides comprehensive Google Patents intelligence including publication number, title, assignee, and filing/grant date for every patent matching a given owner. Whether you're conducting IP due diligence, tracking a competitor's patent portfolio, or building a patent research dataset, the Google Patents Owner & Assignee Lookup delivers actionable Google Patents insights efficiently.

With direct Google Patents query integration, assignee-based search, configurable result limits, and reliable Apify Dataset delivery, the Google Patents Owner & Assignee Lookup ensures comprehensive Google Patents coverage for any company or inventor name. It focuses on key Google Patents signals including publication number, title, and assignee metadata, making it an essential tool for IP research and competitive intelligence.

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📋 Table of Contents

• Features
• Data Source
• How It Works
• Input
• Output
• Technical Stack
• Data Fields
• Use Cases
• Quick Start
• Configuration
• Performance
• Billing
• Important Notes
• Changelog
• Support
• License & Legal

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🔥 Features

• Google Patents API Integration – Direct integration with Google Patents' internal query endpoint.
• Assignee-Based Search – Query patents by owner/assignee name with a single keyword input.
• Configurable Result Limit – Control how many patent records are fetched per run.
• XSSI-Safe JSON Parsing – Automatically strips Google's anti-hijacking response prefix before parsing.
• Nested Response Handling – Handles Google's nested content-wrapped JSON structure transparently.
• Rich Patent Metadata – Captures publication number, title, assignee, and best-available date (grant, publication, filing, or priority date).
• Residential Proxy Support – Apify residential proxy for reliable, uninterrupted access.
• Real-Time Dataset Push – Pushes results to Apify Dataset in a single batch.
• Detailed Logging – Logs search progress and final record counts.
• Async Architecture – Non-blocking async/await design using httpx.
• Graceful Error Handling – Logs and exits cleanly on HTTP errors or malformed responses.

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📊 Data Source

Google Patents Query Endpoint

• Authority: Google Patents' public search interface
• Endpoint: patents.google.com/xhr/query
• Coverage: Global patent publications indexed by Google Patents
• Data: Publication number, title, assignee, and key dates
• Access: Public, key-less JSON endpoint (XSSI-protected)
• Update Frequency: Reflects Google Patents' current index at time of run

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⚙️ How It Works

The Google Patents Owner & Assignee Lookup accepts an assignee/owner keyword and queries Google Patents' internal search endpoint with an assignee:"..." filter. The raw response is stripped of Google's XSSI protection prefix, parsed as JSON, and — if nested — unwrapped from its content field. Each result cluster is walked to extract publication number, title, assignee, and the best-available date field. All matching records are combined and pushed to the Apify Dataset in a single batch.

Key Processing Steps:

1. Input Parsing – Accept assignee keyword and result limit
2. Query Construction – Build an assignee:"<keyword>" search query
3. Proxy Setup – Configure Apify residential proxy
4. API Query – Fetch results from the Google Patents query endpoint
5. XSSI Stripping – Remove Google's )]}' anti-hijacking prefix
6. JSON Parsing – Parse the response, unwrapping nested content if present
7. Result Extraction – Walk clusters to extract patent-level records
8. Field Mapping – Extract publication number, title, assignee, and date
9. Timestamp Tagging – Record scrape time per entry
10. Dataset Push – Push all matched records in a single batch
11. Summary Logging – Report total records found or warn on empty results

Key Benefits:

• Pull Google Patents records for any company or inventor without manual searches
• Build assignee-level patent portfolios for IP research
• Track competitor patent activity over time
• Feed IP due-diligence workflows, dashboards, or research pipelines
• Automate recurring checks as new patents are published

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📥 Input

The Actor accepts the following input parameters:

Field	Type	Default	Description
keyword	string	(required)	The assignee/owner name to search for (e.g., "Google LLC", "Tesla, Inc.").
max_results	integer	50	Maximum number of patent records to request per run.
useApifyProxy	boolean	true	Enable Apify residential proxies.
apifyProxyGroups	array	["RESIDENTIAL"]	Proxy group configuration.

Example Input:

{
  "keyword": "Tesla, Inc.",
  "max_results": 100
}

Fetch a Small Sample for a Company:

{
  "keyword": "Apple Inc.",
  "max_results": 20
}

Fetch Without Proxy:

{
  "keyword": "OpenAI OpCo, LLC",
  "max_results": 50,
  "useApifyProxy": false
}

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📤 Output

The Actor pushes Google Patents records with the following structure:

Field	Type	Description
assignment_id	string	Publication number, used as the record identifier
patent	string	Combined "publication number — title" display string
title	string	Patent title
publication_number	string	Google Patents publication number
assignee	string	Assignee/owner name as recorded by Google Patents
date	string	Best-available date (grant, publication, filing, or priority date)
scraped_at	string	ISO 8601 timestamp of when the record was scraped

Example Google Patents Record:

{
  "assignment_id": "US11234567B2",
  "patent": "US11234567B2 — Battery thermal management system",
  "title": "Battery thermal management system",
  "publication_number": "US11234567B2",
  "assignee": "Tesla, Inc.",
  "date": "2024-03-15",
  "scraped_at": "2026-08-02T09:00:00+00:00"
}

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🧰 Technical Stack

• API: Google Patents internal query endpoint (xhr/query, JSON format)
• HTTP Client: httpx for async HTTP requests
• JSON Parsing: Standard json handling with XSSI-prefix stripping
• Date Handling: datetime with timezone-aware UTC timestamps
• Async: asyncio for non-blocking request handling
• Proxy: Apify Proxy with RESIDENTIAL configuration
• Logging: Apify Actor logging system
• Platform: Apify Actor serverless environment

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📊 Data Fields Explained

Patent Identification

• assignment_id / publication_number: The unique publication number identifying the patent
• title: The official title of the patent as published

Ownership

• assignee: The company or individual listed as the patent owner/assignee

Timing

• date: The most relevant available date — grant date preferred, falling back to publication, filing, or priority date

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🎯 Use Cases

• IP Due Diligence – Review a company's patent portfolio before an acquisition or investment
• Competitive Intelligence – Track competitors' patent filings and grants over time
• Prior Art Research – Identify existing patents held by a specific assignee
• Academic Research – Study innovation trends by company or inventor
• Patent Portfolio Audits – Compile a complete list of patents owned by an organization
• Legal Research – Support IP litigation or licensing negotiations with ownership data
• Market Research – Gauge R&D activity and technology focus by assignee
• Investment Research – Assess a company's IP strength as part of valuation

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🚀 Quick Start

1. Prepare Input

Go to Apify Console and enter:

{
  "keyword": "Tesla, Inc.",
  "max_results": 50
}

2. Run the Actor

Click Start. The Actor will:

• Build an assignee-filtered search query
• Query the Google Patents endpoint
• Parse and extract patent records
• Push all results to the Dataset

3. Monitor Progress

Console shows:

Initializing Google Patents Scraper for Assignee: 'Tesla, Inc.'
[Google Patents] Searching for assignee: 'Tesla, Inc.'...
Done! Successfully saved 50 patent(s) to Apify Dataset.

4. View & Download Results

• Results Tab: All Google Patents records
• Export: JSON, CSV, Excel, or HTML
• Filter: By assignee, publication number, or date
• API Access: Available via the Apify API

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⚙️ Configuration

Single assignee, default limit:

{
  "keyword": "Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd."
}

Large batch with proxy:

{
  "keyword": "Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC",
  "max_results": 200,
  "useApifyProxy": true,
  "apifyProxyGroups": ["RESIDENTIAL"]
}

Small sample without proxy:

{
  "keyword": "SpaceX",
  "max_results": 10,
  "useApifyProxy": false
}

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📈 Performance

Processing Speed

• One request per run against the Google Patents query endpoint
• Result size controlled directly by max_results
• Scales with the number of records requested per assignee

Resource Usage

• Memory: Low, proportional to the number of records returned
• Network: Single outbound request per run
• Proxy: One residential proxy session per run

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💰 Billing

Batch Billing

• Billing Model: Batch push (not per-record PPE)
• Typical Cost: Proportional to total patent records fetched
• Efficiency: Single-request design keeps runs fast and cost-efficient

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⚠️ Important Notes

Legal & Compliance

• Fair Use: Respects Google Patents' public endpoint and reasonable rate limits
• Official Source: Pulls exclusively from Google Patents' own query interface
• Accuracy: Data reflects Google Patents' current index at time of run
• Verification: Cross-check critical ownership details against the official Google Patents website or national patent offices
• Legal: Not legal advice — consult a qualified IP attorney for legal or licensing decisions

Data Quality

• Freshness: Reflects Google Patents' index at the time of the run
• Completeness: Assignee name variations (e.g., subsidiaries, name changes) may affect result coverage
• Accuracy: Sourced directly from Google Patents' public data
• Verification: Cross-check time-sensitive or high-stakes figures against the live Google Patents portal

Best Practices

• Try multiple name variations for the same company (e.g., "Tesla, Inc." vs "Tesla Motors, Inc.") to maximize coverage
• Increase max_results gradually to avoid unnecessarily large runs
• Use a residential proxy for the most reliable access
• Re-run periodically to catch newly granted or published patents
• Combine results across name variants for a complete assignee portfolio

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📦 Changelog

v1.0.0 (August 2026)

Initial Release:

• Google Patents query endpoint integration
• Assignee-based keyword search
• Configurable result limit
• XSSI-safe JSON parsing with nested content handling
• Publication number, title, assignee, and date extraction
• Apify residential proxy support
• Real-time Dataset push
• Async httpx architecture

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🧑‍💻 Support & Feedback

• Issues: Submit via Apify console with the assignee keyword used
• Documentation: Check the Actor details page
• Community: Apify forum discussions
• Feature Requests: Suggest additional patent fields to extract
• Bug Reports: Include the keyword, expected result, and error details

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📄 License & Legal

Terms of Use:

• Use for legitimate IP research, due diligence, and competitive intelligence
• Respect Google Patents' Terms of Service
• Attribute Google Patents as the original data source where required
• Use data responsibly

Disclaimer: Google Patents Owner & Assignee Lookup is provided as-is for research purposes. Users are responsible for compliance with Google's ToS. This is not legal advice.

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🎉 Get Started Today

Deploy now for Google Patents research!

Use for:

• 🔍 IP Due Diligence
• 📊 Competitive Patent Tracking
• 💡 Prior Art Research
• 📈 Patent Portfolio Audits
• 🎯 Innovation Intelligence

Perfect for:

• IP Attorneys & Paralegals
• Competitive Intelligence Analysts
• Investment & M&A Researchers
• R&D and Innovation Teams

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Last Updated: August 2026 Version: 1.0.0 Status: Production Ready Platform: Apify Actor Architecture: Async/Await Data Source: Google Patents Query Endpoint

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📚 Related Tools

• USPTO Trademark Lookup
• World Bank Development Data Collector
• WHOIS Domain Lookup Tool

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⚖️ Google Patents Excellence

This Actor is optimized for Google Patents research with:

• ✅ Assignee-level patent discovery
• ✅ Direct Google Patents endpoint integration
• ✅ XSSI-safe, nested JSON parsing
• ✅ Configurable result volume
• ✅ Real-time Dataset push
• ✅ Production-ready code