Yes — it comes straight from the USPTO's own official patent search API.

Why does it need a pipeline?

The USPTO API requires a free key, which stays on your pipeline machine and never reaches the browser.

Register for free at the USPTO Open Data Portal — no cost, approval is usually quick.

Yes — free to use; only the pipeline's USPTO key requires a free signup.

How long does a US patent last?

A utility patent generally lasts twenty years from the earliest U.S. non-provisional filing date it claims, subject to maintenance fees paid after grant and to term adjustments or extensions. Design patents run fifteen years from grant.

What is the difference between an application and a granted patent?

An application is a request under examination, while a granted patent has been approved and gives enforceable rights. Many applications never reach grant.

Why are applications published before they are decided?

US law generally requires publication about eighteen months after the earliest filing date, so the public can see what is pending even though examination may still be under way.

Patent Filings Ticker Screensaver

The Patent Filings Ticker screensaver scrolls newly published patent filings, refreshed by a background pipeline from the official USPTO patent search API, using your free key. It's free, runs in your browser, and ESC exits.

How the Patent Filings Ticker screensaver works

A background pipeline reads newly published patent filings from the USPTO's official search API, using your free key.

Each filing scrolls through with its real title and filing date.

A running count tracks filings seen since the pipeline last refreshed.

Data refreshes on the pipeline's schedule, not live tick by tick.

What a patent publication is, and is not

The United States Patent and Trademark Office examines applications for patents, which grant an inventor the right to exclude others from making, using or selling a claimed invention for a limited term. Under 35 U.S.C. 122(b), most nonprovisional applications are published promptly after eighteen months from the earliest filing date for which a benefit is sought, whether or not a patent is eventually granted. Exceptions include applications withdrawn beforehand, those under secrecy orders and those filed with a nonpublication request.

A filing date records when the application reached the office, which can precede publication by well over a year, so what you see is not news about what inventors are doing this week. The title is only a short label chosen by the applicant. The scope of protection is set by the claims in the body of the document, which can be much broader or narrower than the title implies.

Patent counts say little on their own. Filing volumes vary by technology and company strategy, and many applications are abandoned or rejected. A title appearing here does not mean the invention works, is on sale, or has been granted rights. It marks a document that became part of the public record.

A worked example

You might see a real filing for a new battery chemistry or software method scroll past — genuine USPTO publication records, not invented examples.

Settings & tips

Accent recolours the filing titles.
Run automation/run.py patentfilings on your pipeline machine to refresh the data.
A free USPTO API key is required — see the site's setup notes.

Frequently asked questions

Is the data real?: Yes — it comes straight from the USPTO's own official patent search API.
Why does it need a pipeline?: The USPTO API requires a free key, which stays on your pipeline machine and never reaches the browser.
How do I get a key?: Register for free at the USPTO Open Data Portal — no cost, approval is usually quick.
Is it free?: Yes — free to use; only the pipeline's USPTO key requires a free signup.
How long does a US patent last?: A utility patent generally lasts twenty years from the earliest U.S. non-provisional filing date it claims, subject to maintenance fees paid after grant and to term adjustments or extensions. Design patents run fifteen years from grant.
What is the difference between an application and a granted patent?: An application is a request under examination, while a granted patent has been approved and gives enforceable rights. Many applications never reach grant.
Why are applications published before they are decided?: US law generally requires publication about eighteen months after the earliest filing date, so the public can see what is pending even though examination may still be under way.

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