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.
| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
|---|
| patentId | string | Conditionally | Up to 100 comma-separated patent IDs. |
| patentNumber | string | Conditionally | Single publication/announcement number only. Do NOT pass comma-separated multiple numbers. |
Rules:
- At least one of
patentId or patentNumber must be provided.
- If both are present,
patentId is used preferentially.
- 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
| Field | Type | Description |
|---|
| total | integer | Total number of records returned |
| data | array | List of patent citation results |
| data[].patentId | string | Patent ID of the queried patent |
| data[].pn | string | Publication/announcement number |
| data[].citedPatents | array | List of cited patent documents |
| data[].citedOthers | array | List of cited non-patent literature |
| columns | array | Column definitions for rendering |
| costToken | integer | Tokens consumed by the query |
| type | string | Rendering style hint |
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
Look up the forward citations for patent US10000000B2.
Parameters: {"patentNumber": "US10000000B2"}
2. Query forward citations by patent ID
Retrieve the cited references for patent ID 12345678.
Parameters: {"patentId": "12345678"}
3. Query forward citations using both identifiers
Look up citations for patent ID 12345678 (publication number US10000000B2).
Parameters: {"patentId": "12345678", "patentNumber": "US10000000B2"} (patentId takes priority)
Display Rules
- Present data clearly: Show citation results in well-structured tables, separating patent citations from non-patent literature citations.
- Summarize counts: Always state the total number of cited patents and cited non-patent literature items.
- No fabrication: Only display data returned by the API. Do not infer or fabricate citation details.
- 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.
- Per-patent results: Present each returned patent's citation data separately.
- 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:
| User Says | Scenario |
|---|
| "What patents does XX cite" | Forward citation lookup |
| "Show me the references for patent XX" | Citation detail retrieval |
| "What prior art is cited by XX" | Prior art reference query |
| "List the cited literature for XX" | Non-patent literature lookup |
| "Citation analysis for patent XX" | Combined patent + literature citation |
| "What documents does patent XX reference" | General citation query |
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