Ecommerce.Patent References

Nexscope Patent Forward Citation

This skill guides you on how to query patent forward citation data from the Nexscope patent database, helping users discover the patents and non-patent literature cited by specific patents during their application process.

Core Concepts

Forward citation refers to the patents and non-patent literature that a given patent has cited in its application documents. This is a fundamental aspect of patent analysis -- understanding what prior art a patent references helps assess its novelty, scope, and technological lineage.

• Patent citations (citedPatents): Other patents referenced by the queried patent.
• Non-patent literature citations (citedOthers): Academic papers, technical reports, and other non-patent documents referenced by the queried patent.

Parameter Guide

You must provide at least one of the following two parameters. If both are provided, patentId takes priority.

Rules:

1. At least one of patentId or patentNumber must be provided.
2. If both are present, patentId is used preferentially.
3. A request may contain up to 100 comma-separated patents. Confirm the intended batch before a multi-patent call.

Batch limit: patentId or patentNumber may contain up to 100 comma-separated values. Because the endpoint consumes significant credits, confirm the intended batch before submitting a multi-patent request.

Response Fields

Invocation

• API Endpoint: POST /zhihuiya/patentForwardCitation (full parameters/response/error codes in references/api.md)
• Python Script: python scripts/patent_references.py '<JSON params>' [--inline]
• Cost Constraints: This tool consumes credits. The same parameter combination defaults to a single call per session. The script includes a 24-hour local cache. Do not automatically retry after failure or empty results. Batch requests may contain up to 100 comma-separated patents; confirm the intended batch first.

Output Strategy (default script behavior):

• Always write the full response to <cwd>/nexscope/<YYYY-MM-DD>/<session>/data/nexscope-zhihuiya-patent-forward-citation-<timestamp>.json (<cwd> is the working directory at script execution time, which in Claude Code is the current project directory; <session> is taken from the SESSION_ID environment variable, auto-grouped by user task; writing to /tmp is forbidden -- error if the current directory is not writable)
• Response body <= 8 KB: print the full JSON to stdout after writing to disk
• Response body > 8 KB: print only a summary to stdout after writing to disk (top-level fields, common counts like total/costToken, length of the largest list field + first 3 samples)
• Add --inline to force full output to stdout (still writes to disk)

Data Reading Tip: Check the summary first to determine if it is sufficient; when specific fields are needed, prefer using jq or ConvertFrom-Json to extract from the saved JSON file on demand to avoid loading the entire JSON into context.

Authentication

Set the NEXSCOPE_API_KEY environment variable. If credentials are missing or expire, visit https://www.nexscope.ai/help/skills-external-access?co-from=skillNS to top up credits.

Usage Examples

1. Query forward citations by publication number

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Look up the forward citations for patent US10000000B2.

Parameters: {"patentNumber": "US10000000B2"}

2. Query forward citations by patent ID

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Retrieve the cited references for patent ID 12345678.

Parameters: {"patentId": "12345678"}

3. Query forward citations using both identifiers

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Look up citations for patent ID 12345678 (publication number US10000000B2).

Parameters: {"patentId": "12345678", "patentNumber": "US10000000B2"} (patentId takes priority)

Display Rules

1. Present data clearly: Show citation results in well-structured tables, separating patent citations from non-patent literature citations.
2. Summarize counts: Always state the total number of cited patents and cited non-patent literature items.
3. No fabrication: Only display data returned by the API. Do not infer or fabricate citation details.
4. Error handling: When a query fails, explain the reason based on the error response and suggest the user verify their patent ID or publication number.
5. Per-patent results: Present each returned patent's citation data separately.
6. Empty results: If a patent has no citations, explicitly inform the user rather than showing an empty table.

User Expression & Scenario Quick Reference

Applicable -- Patent citation queries:

Not applicable -- Needs beyond forward citation data:

• Backward/reverse citations (who cites this patent)
• Patent validity or legal status
• Patent family analysis
• Patent full-text search
• Patent classification or landscape analysis