Patent Document Authority Files

The Pre-Grant and Patent Grant Authority Files contain listings of all US published application publications ("Pre-Grant") and other published or granted patent documents ("Patent Grant") found in USPTO Patent Image databases and list the following fields, where applicable:

Country Code
Document Number
Kind Code
Issue Date
An indication of missing and withdrawn document images
An indication of whether the abstract, description and claims of a publication are text-searchable
 

Please Note:

  • Pre-Grant publications are Patent Application Publications and Plant Patent Application Publications published beginning March 15, 2001.
  • Pre-Grant Authority file contains only Pre-Grant publications
  • Patent Grant Authority file contains all published USPTO patent documents, except for Pre-Grant Publications
  • Authority Files are normally updated on a monthly basis

 

The Authority Files are the lists of valid US patent document numbers that are contained in our Patent Image and text databases.

The files are compliant with WIPO Standard ST.37 which provides information on the format for Authority Files.

WIPO Standard ST.1 provides information on how patent documents are uniquely identified. A publication date is not necessary for unique identification of US patent documents .

The following additional files are also provided:

  • Detailed file layout information
  • Listing of documents found on the Patent Grant Authority File which are indicated as being withdrawn
  • Listing of documents found on the Patent Grant Authority File which are not indicated as being withdrawn, but which may actually be missing

The two lists related to withdrawn granted patent documents are currently under study by the USPTO. Additional information and updates will be provided, as they become available.

File layout description of Pre-Grant Authority file
File layout description of Patent Grant Authority File
Summary of usage of USPTO Kind Codes
Format of Patent Numbers

Click here to download the zipped Pre-Grant Authority Files (last updated September 29, 2024)

Click here to download the zipped Patent Grant Authority Files (last updated September 28, 2024)

Certificate of Correction File (last updated September 28, 2024)

Reexamination Certificates File (last updated September 28, 2024)

Some contents linked to on this page require a plug-in for ZIP File.