FindIP

Overview

FindIP is a patent-search service with a browser playground and a REST API for AI workflows. It suits researchers and product teams looking for semantic, drawing, or biological-sequence search across five patent jurisdictions. Its range of search methods is a strength, but it works only with published records and makes usage a credit-budget decision.

Key features

Search by meaning and language

Semantic search matches patent text by meaning rather than exact wording, which can help when an invention is described with different terminology from the query. Queries in English, Korean, Japanese, Chinese, or German can search across all five jurisdictions. Full-text coverage begins with publications from 2001, except in China, where it begins in 2010.

Drawings, sequences, and result checks

Drawing search finds patents with visually similar images, and pairing an image with text can steer ranking toward a topic. Sequence search finds similar DNA, RNA, or protein sequences and can also rerank matches by topic. FindIP says each result is an existing publication in its database and can be checked by publication number, a useful way to verify a match. Claim analysis, patent clustering, and family analysis are also supported.

Workflow access and usage

The browser-based playground serves individual exploration; the REST API is for embedding search in other services. API keys are issued on request, with endpoint documentation provided when a key is issued. FindIP's MCP endpoint, mcp.findip.ai, officially supports Claude Desktop and Web and ChatGPT during beta. Search costs vary: text searches use one credit, while image search, sequence search, and trend analysis use two. Details, drawings, document fetches, and MCP resources cost no credits. The 60-requests-per-minute limit applies to Free, Basic, and Pro; Enterprise has a custom limit.

Coverage is based on published office data, so unpublished patents are excluded. FindIP is a poor fit for work that depends on unpublished filings or jurisdictions beyond the US, China, Japan, Korea, and Europe.

Pricing

FindIP has a free plan and individual and team tiers. Paid prices below are monthly and billed excluding tax.

• Free — free: 30 search credits, all APIs, five jurisdictions, and reranking. It is a useful way to try the search modes, but its small credit allowance limits sustained research. Community support.
• Basic — $45 a month: 300 search credits per month, all APIs, five jurisdictions, reranking, and email support. This suits an individual with regular but moderate search needs; the credit cap is the main constraint.
• Team Basic — $45 a month: 300 credits per member per month, a team dashboard, unified billing, self-service seat changes, and five jurisdictions. It adds shared administration rather than a larger individual allowance; the per-member quota matters as the team grows.
• Pro — $135 a month: 1,000 monthly credits for one user, all APIs, five jurisdictions, reranking, and priority support. It suits a high-volume individual who needs the larger quota and faster support.
• Team Pro — $135 a month: 1,000 credits per member per month, team dashboard, unified billing, self-service seat changes, and priority support. This is the team option for heavier per-person usage, though the listed rate limit remains 60 requests per minute.
• Enterprise — custom pricing: Custom search credits and pricing, contract and billing, negotiated support, and features and infrastructure by agreement. Its custom rate limit also makes this the tier to discuss for needs that exceed the standard limit.

Credit costs make the headline quotas different in practice: image and sequence searches consume twice the credits of text search, while details and document fetches do not draw down the search allowance. The listed support rises from community on Free to email on Basic and priority on Pro; Enterprise support is negotiated.

Platforms

FindIP is available on web, Android, and iOS, alongside API access. Its supported MCP connection offers another route into Claude and ChatGPT, with ChatGPT support in beta.

Who it's for

FindIP is best suited to patent researchers and product teams who want meaning-based search, image similarity, or biological sequence matching in one workflow, especially when they need API or MCP access. Its five-jurisdiction scope and multilingual queries can support cross-market exploration, while the Free plan offers a low-commitment starting point. It is less suitable for exhaustive research that requires unpublished filings, other jurisdictions, or high search volume without careful credit management.

Pros and cons

• Pro: Text, drawing, and sequence search address different ways of identifying relevant patents, including cases where keywords alone are insufficient.
• Pro: Five-language queries, five-jurisdiction coverage, and publication-number checks make cross-jurisdiction exploration and result verification practical.
• Pro: All APIs are included even on Free, so users can explore programmatic workflows before paying.
• Con: Only published office data is covered, excluding unpublished patents.
• Con: The 30-credit Free allowance can be consumed quickly by image or sequence searches, which cost two credits each.
• Con: Standard plans share a 60-requests-per-minute limit, which may constrain request-heavy integrations even when credits remain.

Alternatives

Compare AI patent search software if you want to weigh FindIP against more options in the category.

• GoVeda is worth considering if you want its free-forever OpenPatent plan, which advertises 220M+ patents worldwide, unlimited AI semantic searches, and patentability reports and summaries.
• Patently may suit an individual seeking a free web plan with asset search, patent-family browsing, and chat with Onardo.
• PatSnap is an alternative if you want a service with API and self-hosted platform options and a free plan for trying technical research features.
• The Lens is worth a look for anonymous free browsing or a free academic workspace.
• Patent77 is another freemium web alternative.
• PatLab.AI is another freemium web alternative.
• PQAI is another freemium web alternative.
• AcclaimIP is a paid web and API alternative with annual, prepaid per-seat licensing.

Verdict

Choose FindIP if your work benefits from semantic, drawing, or sequence search across its five jurisdictions and you value API or MCP access. Its broad search modes and free API access are compelling for exploration, but the published-record boundary, credit caps, and standard request limit are reasons to look elsewhere when coverage or throughput matters more.