What Claude (Anthropic) with web search answered for patent-search services (startups) on 2026-09-07

Claude (Anthropic) with web search claude-opus-5 asked 2026-09-07

Coverage: Claude (Anthropic) with web search. Other engines not included.

The question asked, verbatim: best patent-search services for startups

Brands named, in the order the engine gave

1. Google mentioned
   - Google Patents - the best starting point.
2. Google Patents mentioned
   - Google Patents - the best starting point.
3. PQAI mentioned
   (PQAI (https://projectpq.ai/5-free-and-possibly-more-efficient-alternatives-to-google-patents/))
4. Espacenet mentioned
   - Espacenet (EPO) - ~150M documents, the most comprehensive free source, with CPC classification, citation and patent-family search plus machine translation from 30+ languages.
5. Lens.org mentioned
   - Lens.org - free, and uniquely good at linking patents to scholarly literature, which matters if you're in biotech/deep tech where the killer prior art is a paper, not a patent.
6. Cardinal Intellectual Property mentioned
   - Cardinal Intellectual Property - large, well-established US firm;
7. Ensemble IP mentioned
   - Ensemble IP - the ex-Landon IP team, searching since 2004;
8. Landon IP mentioned
   - Ensemble IP - the ex-Landon IP team, searching since 2004;
9. Clarivate mentioned
   - Clarivate (Landon IP) - same lineage, now inside Clarivate;
10. Derwent mentioned
    use if you want it bundled with Derwent data.
11. GreyB mentioned
    - GreyB / Sagacious IP - India-based, very competitive pricing and fast turnaround;
12. GreyB / Sagacious IP mentioned
    - GreyB / Sagacious IP - India-based, very competitive pricing and fast turnaround;
13. Sagacious IP mentioned
    - GreyB / Sagacious IP - India-based, very competitive pricing and fast turnaround;
14. IPRally mentioned
    - IPRally - graph-based AI trained on patent text;
15. Patlytics mentioned
    - Patlytics - broadest lifecycle coverage (search, analysis, infringement charting);
16. Patentext mentioned
    (Patentext (https://patentext.com/blog/solve-intelligence-vs-patlytics/))
17. Solve Intelligence mentioned
    - Solve Intelligence - drafting-first with search attached;
18. XLSCOUT mentioned
    - XLSCOUT - strongest for landscape/scouting rather than single-invention checks.
19. PatSnap mentioned
    PatSnap ($30k-$60k/yr) and Questel Orbit ($25k-$50k/yr) are excellent analytics platforms with deep EP/Asia coverage, but they're priced for corporate IP departments, not seed-stage companies.
20. Questel mentioned
    PatSnap ($30k-$60k/yr) and Questel Orbit ($25k-$50k/yr) are excellent analytics platforms with deep EP/Asia coverage, but they're priced for corporate IP departments, not seed-stage companies.
21. Questel Orbit mentioned
    PatSnap ($30k-$60k/yr) and Questel Orbit ($25k-$50k/yr) are excellent analytics platforms with deep EP/Asia coverage, but they're priced for corporate IP departments, not seed-stage companies.
22. Orbit mentioned
    PatSnap ($30k-$60k/yr) and Questel Orbit ($25k-$50k/yr) are excellent analytics platforms with deep EP/Asia coverage, but they're priced for corporate IP departments, not seed-stage companies.

Sources the engine cited

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The answer, as recorded

Short version: for most startups the right answer is a free database for your own first pass, then a few hundred dollars to a professional search firm before you spend real money on filing. The $30k/year AI platforms are almost never worth it pre-Series B. ## 1. Do it yourself first (free) - **Google Patents** - the best starting point. Full-text across 100+ offices, machine translations, "similar documents," and it indexes non-patent literature (papers, some books). Fastest way to find out whether your idea is obviously already patented. Weaker on classification-based searching and non-English filings than the official databases. ([PQAI](https://projectpq.ai/5-free-and-possibly-more-efficient-alternatives-to-google-patents/)) - **Espacenet** (EPO) - ~150M documents, the most comprehensive free source, with CPC classification, citation and patent-family search plus machine translation from 30+ languages. This is where you catch the CN/JP/KR/DE art Google surfaces poorly. ([Espacenet](https://worldwide.espacenet.com/), [PatSeer](https://www.patseer.com/free-and-paid-patent-databases-2026-complete-guide/)) - **USPTO Patent Public Search** - official US source; proper Boolean and fielded search, plus file wrappers, assignments and legal status. Use it when you need to be sure about a specific US reference. ([USPTO](https://www.uspto.gov/patents/search/patent-public-search)) - **Lens.org** - free, and uniquely good at linking patents to scholarly literature, which matters if you're in biotech/deep tech where the killer prior art is a paper, not a patent. ([Cypris](https://www.cypris.ai/insights/patsnap-alternatives-8-tools-for-patent-research-intelligence)) - **PQAI** - free AI/natural-language prior art search: paste your invention description in plain English instead of guessing keywords. Good complement to keyword search; there's a $199/mo API tier if you want to automate it. ([PQAI](https://projectpq.ai/top-patent-search-apis-for-enterprises/)) ## 2. Then pay a human searcher (the highest-value spend) A professional patentability search typically runs a few hundred to ~$2,000 depending on complexity - cheap insurance against a $10-15k filing on unpatentable subject matter. ([Menteso](https://menteso.com/blog/how-much-the-prior-art-search-cost/)) - **Cardinal Intellectual Property** - large, well-established US firm; does patentability, clearance, landscape and accelerated-exam searches. Solid default. ([Cardinal](https://cardinal-ip.com/patent-search/)) - **Ensemble IP** - the ex-Landon IP team, searching since 2004; strong on international/foreign-language art. ([Ensemble IP](https://ensembleip.com/)) - **Clarivate (Landon IP)** - same lineage, now inside Clarivate; use if you want it bundled with Derwent data. ([Clarivate](https://clarivate.com/intellectual-property/landon-ip-is-clarivate/)) - **GreyB / Sagacious IP** - India-based, very competitive pricing and fast turnaround; common choice for startups on a budget. ([Sagacious](https://sagaciousresearch.com/prior-art-search)) One caveat: if the question is *freedom to operate* rather than patentability - i.e., "can I ship this without being sued" - order it **through your patent attorney**, not directly. Same searchers, but the analysis stays under privilege. ## 3. AI platforms - only if you're searching continuously - **IPRally** - graph-based AI trained on patent text; the most credible of the AI-native search tools for patentability and invalidity work. Roughly $24k-$72k/year. ([Software Finder](https://softwarefinder.com/legal/iprally)) - **Patlytics** - broadest lifecycle coverage (search, analysis, infringement charting); $21M raised, Google and Quinn Emanuel as customers. ([Patentext](https://patentext.com/blog/solve-intelligence-vs-patlytics/)) - **Solve Intelligence** - drafting-first with search attached; $40M Series B in Dec 2025. Worth a look if you're generating a lot of applications in-house. ([Patentext](https://patentext.com/blog/solve-intelligence-vs-patlytics/)) - **XLSCOUT** - strongest for landscape/scouting rather than single-invention checks. ([G2](https://g2.com/products/xlscout/pricing)) ## 4. Enterprise databases - skip for now **PatSnap** ($30k-$60k/yr) and **Questel Orbit** ($25k-$50k/yr) are excellent analytics platforms with deep EP/Asia coverage, but they're priced for corporate IP departments, not seed-stage companies. Revisit when you have a portfolio to manage rather than a first filing to make. ([Wicely](https://wicely.com/resources/patent-monitoring-platform-comparison)) **What I'd actually do:** an afternoon in Google Patents + Espacenet + PQAI to kill obviously-dead ideas, then ~$500-$1,500 to Cardinal, Ensemble, or GreyB on the one or two ideas that survive, then talk to a patent attorney. Total under $2k before you commit to filing.

Near this answer

The same question, recorded on other dates: 2026-10-23, 2026-10-21, 2026-10-18, 2026-10-15, 2026-10-13, 2026-10-10, 2026-10-08, 2026-10-06, 2026-10-04, 2026-10-02, 2026-10-01, 2026-09-26.

patent-search services, asked for other audiences: small businesses (asked 2026-10-23).

Other categories with a recorded answer: accounting firms, business coaching services, business formation services, compliance consulting firms.

Play this answer: which brand was named first?

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