# EPO Patent Application Publication Watch (`nexgenwatch/eu-epo-application-publication-watch`) Actor

European patent applications as they publish (A1/A2/A3). A high-volume bulk feed — roughly 3,700 publications a week.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/nexgenwatch/eu-epo-application-publication-watch.md
- **Developed by:** [NexGen Watch](https://apify.com/nexgenwatch) (community)
- **Categories:** Business, News
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $1.30 / 1,000 epo publication deltas

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.
Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.
Actors are written with capital "A".

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.
The best way to integrate Actors is as follows.

- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md).

For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below.

For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt).

# README

## EPO Patent Application Publication Watch

European patent applications as they publish (A1/A2/A3). A high-volume bulk feed — roughly 3,700 publications a week.

### Source

EPO publication server, weekly Bulletin publication lists (public, logged-out)

- https://data.epo.org/publication-server/rest/v1.2/publication-dates

Public, logged-out only — no API key, login, cookie or CAPTCHA.
`robots.txt` on the publication server permits all paths.

### The four delta types, and their weekly volumes

| value | kind codes | measured per week |
|---|---|---|
| `application-publication` | A1, A2, A3, A4 | ~3,700 |
| `grant-publication` | B1 | ~1,900 |
| `amended-specification` | B2, B3 | ~35 |
| `correction-publication` | A8, A9, B8, B9 | ~50 |

**The volumes are very uneven and they matter.** Selecting
`application-publication` means roughly 3,700 deltas on the first comparison run,
and billed deltas are capped at 500 per run — so it takes several runs to drain,
each reporting the withholding. If you want a low-volume, high-signal feed, watch
`amended-specification` (a patent narrowed or upheld after opposition) and
`correction-publication`.

Kind selection narrows the **baselined record set**, not just the reporting, so
watching B2 stores 35 records rather than 5,767. Because that changes which records
exist, the selection is part of the baseline identity: changing it starts a fresh
baseline instead of emitting a corpus-wide phantom delta storm.

### Fair use

The EPO publishes a 10 GB / 7 days per-IP limit. This actor reads **one weekly list
per publication date** — about 470 KB each — and the kind code is embedded in the
publication id, so no per-publication document is ever fetched. A 52-week backfill is
about 24 MB. It never requests `document.html`, and a test asserts that.

### Pricing

| Event | Price (FREE tier) |
|---|---|
| Actor start (`apify-actor-start`) | $0.02 one-time |
| Source check (`source-check`) | $0.10 |
| **Per delta (`epo-publication-delta`)** | **$0.002** |

`source-check` ladder, GOLD-floored: **$0.10 / $0.09 / $0.08 / $0.067**. Charged once
per run after enumeration terminates — seed and genuine-zero runs included. **Not**
charged when the source refused the read.

The per-delta value event (`epo-publication-delta`) is the **primary** event and is priced at **$0.002 per delta** at the FREE tier. Ladder, GOLD-floored: **$0.002 / $0.0018 / $0.0016 / $0.0013** (FREE / BRONZE / SILVER / GOLD-PLATINUM-DIAMOND). `source-check` still charges; it is no longer the headline event. Billed deltas are capped at 500 per run and any overflow is reported as a withholding rather than charged.

### Snapshot mode is a PREVIEW

`watch_mode: false` returns at most **25 records**, hard-capped in code.

### Watch semantics

First watch run seeds and emits **zero** deltas. A publication leaving the window is
the window moving — a Bulletin week does not un-publish — and is never reported as a
withdrawal. Any publication id that does not parse is counted and reported rather
than silently dropped.

### Terminal states

`NORMAL` · `SUCCEEDED-0: GENUINE_EMPTY` · `SUCCEEDED-0` (no change) · `PARTIAL` · `BLOCKED`.

### One delta type per Actor

This Actor watches **`application-publication`** and nothing else. The other delta types in this family are separate Actors, each with its own price and its own baseline — so you pay for the feed you want and no other.

# Actor input Schema

## `weeks` (type: `integer`):

How many of the most recent weekly Bulletin dates to read. One request each, about 470 KB per week.

## `number_prefix` (type: `array`):

Optional filter on the leading digits of the EP publication number, e.g. 47 to narrow the range.

## `max_items` (type: `integer`):

Hard cap on publications watched (bounds runtime and memory).

## `watch_mode` (type: `boolean`):

First run seeds a private baseline and emits ZERO deltas.

## `baseline_id` (type: `string`):

Names the private baseline so several watches can run side by side.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "weeks": 1,
  "number_prefix": [],
  "max_items": 120,
  "watch_mode": true,
  "baseline_id": "default"
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

No description

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "weeks": 1,
    "number_prefix": [],
    "max_items": 120,
    "watch_mode": false,
    "baseline_id": "default"
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("nexgenwatch/eu-epo-application-publication-watch").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "weeks": 1,
    "number_prefix": [],
    "max_items": 120,
    "watch_mode": False,
    "baseline_id": "default",
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("nexgenwatch/eu-epo-application-publication-watch").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "weeks": 1,
  "number_prefix": [],
  "max_items": 120,
  "watch_mode": false,
  "baseline_id": "default"
}' |
apify call nexgenwatch/eu-epo-application-publication-watch --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,nexgenwatch/eu-epo-application-publication-watch"
        }
    }
}

```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/emtaRpKuZ5e6KFHNF/builds/mG5t4OBIwzJr3Qaty/openapi.json