Patent Sentry

Everything Google Patents doesn't do for US Patents: exact expiration dates, AI claims summarization, FTO risk analysis, prior art discovery, and more — powered by Gemini 3.

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PatentSentry

Inspiration

Google Patents is fine for browsing, but it doesn't give you the details that actually matter: exact expiration dates, maintenance fee deadlines, or any real claims analysis. I kept switching between multiple tools just to answer "When does this patent expire?" or "What does it protect?"

I wanted something that goes beyond search. I want an AI tool that understands patents like a patent attorney would.

What it does

PatentSentry is an AI-powered patent intelligence platform:

  • Exact expiration dates with PTA/PTE adjustments
  • Maintenance fee tracking at 3.5, 7.5, and 11.5 year windows
  • Gemini 3 claims analysis using a 3-step pipeline (Extract → Analyze → Synthesize)
  • Prior art discovery with an autonomous AI agent
  • FTO risk assessment by analyzing your product against patent claims
  • Claim dependency graphs as interactive visualizations
  • Multi-patent comparison with overlap detection

How I built it

The core is a multi-step AI orchestration using Gemini 3:

Extract (domain, claims, keywords)
    ↓
Analyze (FTO risk, threats, scope)
    ↓
Synthesize (summary, strategy, confidence)

Each step builds on the previous output — it's chained reasoning, not a single prompt wrapper.

Stack:

  • Frontend: React 18, TypeScript, Vite, Tailwind
  • Backend: Supabase Edge Functions (Deno)
  • AI: Google Gemini 3
  • Data: USPTO PatentsView API
  • Enrichment: Exa AI for business context

Challenges

  1. Patent date math is complex. Expiration isn't just filing + 20 years. You need PTA days, PTE extensions, terminal disclaimers, and maintenance fee status. Had to study USPTO rules carefully.

  2. Gemini prompting for legal content. Patents use dense, specific language. Took a lot of iteration to get useful analysis without hallucinations.

  3. Rate limiting across APIs. Coordinating PatentsView, Gemini, and Exa calls required request queuing and smart caching.

What I learned

  • USPTO patent data structures and PatentsView API
  • Multi-step AI workflow design where outputs chain together
  • Edge function optimization for cold starts
  • Patent law basics: PTA, PTE, terminal disclaimers, maintenance windows

What's next

  • PDF upload for non-USPTO patents
  • Portfolio valuation scoring
  • Email alerts for expirations and fee deadlines
  • International patent support (EPO, WIPO)

Built With

  • deno
  • exa-ai
  • firecrawl
  • google-gemini-3
  • react
  • supabase
  • tailwind-css
  • typescript
  • uspto-patentsview-api
  • vercel
  • vite
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