Prior-Art Search API for University Tech Transfer Offices

A production-ready Prior-Art Search API for university tech transfer offices and platforms that support invention disclosure, evaluation, and commercialization.

Open-source core. Privacy-first. Transparent pricing. Built for pre-filing academic research.

Initiated At

Who This Is For

Built for teams supporting university innovation, including:

Technology Transfer Offices (TTOs)
University invention disclosure platforms
Research commercialization teams
Academic innovation hubs and incubators
Vendors building software for universities

If your workflow needs to answer “Is this research potentially novel?”, this API fits.

The Problem

Early-Stage Prior-Art Screening Is Hard for Universities

Researchers expect quick feedback after disclosure
Patent data is complex and constantly evolving
Manual searches don’t scale across departments
External searches are slow and expensive
Black-box tools reduce trust in screening outcomes

A “simple feature” becomes a full search-engine project.

The Solution

A Plug-and-Play Prior-Art Search API

Dedicated prior-art search engine exposed via API
Semantic search across global patent data
Designed for early-stage screening, not final opinions
Open-source core for transparency
Privacy-first by design

No patent ingestion.
No search infrastructure.
No black boxes.

How It Works

A simple integration designed for IP software platforms.

Submit an invention disclosure or research summary

The TTO platform sends a disclosure, abstract, or technical summary to the API.

PQAI runs semantic prior-art search

The engine identifies relevant patents based on meaning, not just keywords.

Receive ranked prior art

Results are returned in a structured, ranked format.

Review results inside existing workflows

Prior art appears directly in disclosure review, evaluation, or committee dashboards.

What University TTOs Use This For

The Prior-Art Search API supports:

Initial novelty screening after disclosure

Reducing time spent on manual searches before patent drafting begins

Supporting invention evaluation committees

Prioritizing disclosures for external counsel

Improving quality before patent filing decisions

All embedded inside your existing systems, under your control.

Why University Teams Choose PQAI

This is not a general-purpose vector database or a DIY RAG stack.
It’s purpose-built for patent prior-art discovery.

Built for Academic Workflows

Designed for early screening, not replacing legal judgment.

Fast to Deploy

Integrates into existing TTO platforms in days.

Transparent by Design

Open-source core enables trust and auditability.

Security-First

Built for confidential, pre-publication research data.

Transparent, Predictable Pricing

Usage-based. No long-term lock-ins. Easy to budget.

Simple, Transparent Pricing

Straightforward usage-based pricing suitable for universities and vendors serving them.

Security & Data Handling

Designed for sensitive academic research and invention disclosures.

Security is treated as baseline infrastructure.

Hear from our customers

The use of search terms, applicants and patent classes is a common way of formulating a search pattern. However, we have found that knowledge of patent classes and how they relate to subject matter is not so widespread, especially among users who do not deal with patents on a daily basis. Among other things, PQAI suggests appropriate classes based on a text, which is extremely helpful and time-saving. It also widens the scope of the search.

We use PQAI a lot and can highly recommend it to other users.

PQAI is a fantastic project that provides a user with a powerful patent search tool at their fingertips. It is by far the easiest and most effective way to quickly track down relevant IP utilising natural language queries, surpassing all the other free services I have tried in this field, and even some paid databases. Its API is also a great feature that has been integrated into some of our in-house tools, allowing our designers and researchers to quickly get a view of the patent landscape for a particular idea, without the need to switch their attention to another platform. In a world where some are suspicious of the rise and power of AI, it is wonderful to see it being put to good use like this and freely available to everyone interested.

As an AI Fellow at R42 Group, I spearheaded the development of a cutting-edge patent search tool tailored for the life sciences industry. Leveraging PQAI's robust API as the backend system, I was able to create an innovative solution that significantly enhances patent search capabilities. The swift and expert support from the PQAI team played a crucial role in the success of this project, enabling seamless integration and rapid development.

I value PQAI a lot because it offers a powerful to retrieve patents via a semantic search. My impression is that this semantic search is carried out within the abstracts.

I find the various endpoints very useful, for example that endpoint which returns independent claims specifically.

really liked the experience with PQAI so far! I'm primarily using the semantic search and semantic CPC lookup, mostly through the API and sometimes over the website. Response times are really good, and the API has a nice developer experience.

Designed for Universities and Their Technology Partners

You can integrate quickly, start small, and scale safely.

A university tech transfer office

A commercialization office managing disclosures

A vendor building tools for TTOs

Get Started

If your tech transfer workflow needs prior-art screening under the hood, PQAI gives you the fastest path to production.