# swiss-ip-mcp [Health: Active]
**Category:** ๐ป Developer Tools
**Repository:** https://github.com/malkreide/swiss-ip-mcp
**GitHub Stars:** 0
**Views:** 0
**Installs:** 0
**Upvotes:** 0
**Directory Page:** https://allmcps.com/mcp/swiss-ip-mcp
## Description
IGE/IPI Swissreg trademarks, patents, SPCs
## Claude Desktop Quick Installation
Install path detected from listing signals. Uses `uvx` (confidence: high):
```json
"mcpServers": {
"swiss-ip-mcp": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": ["swiss-ip-mcp"]
}
}
```
## Documentation & README
๐จ๐ญ **Part of the [Swiss Public Data MCP Portfolio](https://github.com/malkreide/swiss-public-data-mcp)**
# ๐ก swiss-ip-mcp
**MCP Server for Swiss Intellectual Property Data (IGE/IPI)**
[](LICENSE)
[](https://www.python.org/downloads/)
[](https://modelcontextprotocol.io/)
[](https://www.swissreg.ch/public/apidocs/)
[](https://github.com/malkreide/swiss-ip-mcp/actions)
๐ฉ๐ช [Deutsche Version โ README.de.md](https://github.com/malkreide/swiss-ip-mcp/blob/HEAD/README.de.md)
---
## Overview
`swiss-ip-mcp` is a [Model Context Protocol (MCP)](https://modelcontextprotocol.io/) server that gives AI models structured, language-driven access to the Swiss intellectual property register [Swissreg](https://www.swissreg.ch), operated by the **Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property (IGE/IPI)**.
It is the successor to [`patent-mcp`](https://github.com/malkreide/patent-mcp) and covers all available domains of the [Swissreg Datadelivery API](https://www.swissreg.ch/public/apidocs/): trademarks, patents, patent publications, and supplementary protection certificates (SPC/ESZ).
**This server is model-agnostic.** It works with Claude, GPT-4, Llama, and any other MCP-compatible client โ not just Claude Desktop.
---
## Example Queries
The real power is natural language. Instead of manually searching the register, just ask a question:
> "Which trademarks does the City of Zurich hold at the IGE?"
> "Is the name 'Learning City Zurich' registered as a trademark in Switzerland?"
> "Which pharmaceutical companies have filed Swiss patents in the last six months?"
> "Show me all trademark applications in the education sector (Nice class 41) since January 2025."
> "What supplementary protection certificates does Novartis hold in Switzerland?"
---
## Covered Domains
| Domain | Description |
|--------|-------------|
| **Trademarks** | Swiss trademark register โ filing, protection, owners, Nice classes |
| **Patents** | CH patents โ filing, grant, IPC classes, applicants, inventors |
| **Patent publications** | Official patent publications in the Swiss Official Gazette |
| **SPC / ESZ** | Supplementary protection certificates for medicinal and plant-protection products |
> **Note:** Design search is not yet available in the Swissreg Datadelivery API.
---
## Tools (11)
| Tool | Function |
|------|---------|
| `swiss_ip_search_trademarks` | Free-text trademark search (wildcard `*` supported) |
| `swiss_ip_get_trademark` | Retrieve a trademark by registration number |
| `swiss_ip_search_trademarks_by_owner` | Find all trademarks held by a given owner |
| `swiss_ip_search_trademarks_by_class` | Filter trademarks by Nice classification class |
| `swiss_ip_search_patents` | Free-text patent search |
| `swiss_ip_get_patent` | Retrieve a patent by number |
| `swiss_ip_search_patents_by_applicant` | Find patents by applicant or inventor name |
| `swiss_ip_search_patent_publications` | Search patent publications |
| `swiss_ip_search_spc` | SPC/ESZ search (pharma and plant protection) |
| `swiss_ip_search_recent_filings` | Filter filings by date range across all domains |
| `swiss_ip_get_quota` | Check remaining API data transfer quota |
### Resources & Prompts
Beyond tools, the server exposes two more MCP primitives:
**Resources** (read-only metadata, `swissip://` URI scheme):
| URI | Content |
|-----|---------|
| `swissip://about` | Server + data-source metadata (provenance, covered domains) |
| `swissip://domains` | List of covered IP domains |
**Prompts** (curated workflow templates):
| Prompt | Arguments | Purpose |
|--------|-----------|---------|
| `trademark_availability` | `name` | Check whether a name is a registered Swiss trademark |
| `competitor_ip_report` | `company` | IP overview (trademarks + patents) for a company |
| `recent_ip_filings_report` | `ip_type, date_from, date_to` | Report on recent filings in a period |
### Error semantics
Tool **execution errors** (API failures, timeouts, missing credentials) are
returned with MCP `isError: true` and a masked, user-friendly message โ internal
details (stack traces, raw API bodies) go only to the server log. A specific
number lookup that finds nothing is **not** an error: it returns a normal result
with `match_type: "none"` and a `message`.
---
## Project Phase
This server is in **Phase 1 (read-only)** of the MCP phased-rollout model: every
tool is read-only and writes nothing. See [`ROADMAP.md`](https://github.com/malkreide/swiss-ip-mcp/blob/HEAD/ROADMAP.md) for the
phase plan and the prerequisites for any future write-capable phase.
---
## Architecture
```
AI client (Claude Desktop, Cursor, VS Code + Continue, โฆ)
โ
โ MCP (stdio or SSE)
โผ
swiss-ip-mcp
โ
โ HTTPS + OAuth2 (IGE IDP)
โผ
Swissreg Datadelivery API
https://www.swissreg.ch/public/api/v1
โ
โโโ TrademarkSearch
โโโ PatentSearch
โโโ PatentPublicationSearch
โโโ SPCSearch
โโโ UserQuota
```
### Transport Modes
| Transport | Use case | Configuration |
|-----------|----------|---------------|
| **stdio** | Claude Desktop, local development | Default (no extra setup) |
| **Streamable HTTP** | Cloud deployment (Render.com etc.) | `MCP_TRANSPORT=streamable-http` |
| **SSE** | Legacy HTTP clients | `MCP_TRANSPORT=sse` |
Transport is selected at startup from the `MCP_TRANSPORT` environment variable
(default `stdio`). The HTTP transports are served by uvicorn and honour:
| Variable | Default | Purpose |
|----------|---------|---------|
| `MCP_HOST` | `127.0.0.1` | Bind address. Use `0.0.0.0` **only** inside a container / behind a reverse proxy. |
| `PORT` / `MCP_PORT` | `8000` | Bind port (`PORT` wins โ PaaS convention). |
| `MCP_ALLOWED_ORIGINS` | _(empty)_ | Comma-separated CORS origin allow-list. No wildcard in production. |
| `MCP_ALLOWED_HOSTS` | _(empty)_ | Comma-separated `Host`-header allow-list; enables DNS-rebinding protection when set. |
The `Mcp-Session-Id` header is exposed via CORS so browser-based clients can
read and echo it on follow-up requests.
---
## Prerequisites
1. **IGE credentials** (free): Sign the [terms of use](https://www.ige.ch/en/services/digital-resources/ip-data/data-delivery-api) and send the form by post to the IGE. Credentials are issued upon receipt.
2. **Python 3.11 or later**
3. **`uv`** (recommended) or `pip`
---
## Installation
```bash
# Run directly with uv (recommended, no local installation needed)
uvx swiss-ip-mcp
# Local development installation
git clone https://github.com/malkreide/swiss-ip-mcp
cd swiss-ip-mcp
pip install -e ".[dev]"
```
---
## Configuration
### Environment Variables
```bash
export IGE_USERNAME="your_username"
export IGE_PASSWORD="your_password"
```
### Claude Desktop
Open the config file:
- **macOS:** `~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json`
- **Windows:** `%APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json`
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"swiss-ip": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": ["swiss-ip-mcp"],
"env": {
"IGE_USERNAME": "your_username",
"IGE_PASSWORD": "your_password"
}
}
}
}
```
### Other MCP Clients
`swiss-ip-mcp` is compatible with any MCP-capable client:
| Client | Configuration |
|--------|--------------|
| Cursor | Add to `~/.cursor/mcp.json` (same format as Claude Desktop) |
| VS Code + Continue | Add via `continue.json` MCP server block |
| Windsurf | Add via MCP server settings |
| Self-hosted (mcp-proxy) | Use SSE transport with `MCP_TRANSPORT=sse` |
### Cloud / Render.com (Streamable HTTP)
```bash
MCP_TRANSPORT=streamable-http \
MCP_HOST=0.0.0.0 PORT=8000 \
MCP_ALLOWED_ORIGINS="https://your-client.example" \
MCP_ALLOWED_HOSTS="your-app.onrender.com" \
IGE_USERNAME=... IGE_PASSWORD=... \
swiss-ip-mcp
```
> **Security note:** bind to `0.0.0.0` only inside a container or behind a
> reverse proxy. Always set `MCP_ALLOWED_ORIGINS` and `MCP_ALLOWED_HOSTS` for
> public deployments โ this enables CORS scoping and DNS-rebinding protection.
> The endpoint is unauthenticated and serves only public IP-register data; do
> not place credentialed or non-public tools behind this transport without
> adding authentication first.
### Docker / Kubernetes
A hardened multi-stage [`Dockerfile`](https://github.com/malkreide/swiss-ip-mcp/blob/HEAD/Dockerfile) (non-root UID 10001,
`HEALTHCHECK` on `/health`), a [`docker-compose.yml`](https://github.com/malkreide/swiss-ip-mcp/blob/HEAD/docker-compose.yml) with
resource limits, and Kubernetes manifests + an HAProxy sticky-session config
under [`deploy/`](https://github.com/malkreide/swiss-ip-mcp/blob/HEAD/deploy/) are included.
```bash
docker compose up --build # reads IGE_* from .env
```
See [`docs/deployment.md`](https://github.com/malkreide/swiss-ip-mcp/blob/HEAD/docs/deployment.md) for hardening, resource limits and
scaling (stateless vs. sticky-session) details.
---
## Tests
```bash
# Unit tests (no credentials needed)
PYTHONPATH=src pytest tests/ -v
# Including live integration tests against the real API
IGE_USERNAME=... IGE_PASSWORD=... PYTHONPATH=src pytest tests/ -v
```
The CI workflow runs on Python 3.11, 3.12, and 3.13.
---
## Observability (optional)
The server can emit OpenTelemetry traces โ one span per tool call plus child
spans for the backend Swissreg/IDP HTTP calls. Tracing is **off by default** and
adds no overhead until enabled.
```bash
pip install 'swiss-ip-mcp[otel]'
MCP_OTEL_ENABLED=1 \
OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT=http://your-collector:4318 \
MCP_ENV=production \
swiss-ip-mcp
```
| Variable | Purpose |
|----------|---------|
| `MCP_OTEL_ENABLED` | Set to `1` to enable trace export (or just set the endpoint below). |
| `OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT` | OTLP/HTTP collector endpoint (standard OTEL variable). |
| `MCP_ENV` | Value for the `deployment.environment` resource attribute (default `production`). |
Tool spans carry only `mcp.tool.name` and `mcp.tool.result.is_error` โ **no
query arguments, credentials or response bodies** are recorded.
### Logging
The server logs structured JSON to **stderr** (stdout is reserved for the
stdio protocol). Every tool call binds a `tool` name and a `correlation_id`, so
all log lines for one call are correlated. Set the level with `LOG_LEVEL`
(`DEBUG` / `INFO` / `WARNING` / `ERROR`, default `INFO`):
```json
{"event": "tool.call.start", "tool": "swiss_ip_search_trademarks", "correlation_id": "da55โฆ", "level": "info", "timestamp": "โฆZ"}
```
---
## MCP Protocol Version
This server speaks **two protocol eras** over the same endpoint. The client's
first request on a connection decides which one applies; a later claim from the
other era is refused.
| Era | Revision | Who reaches it |
|---|---|---|
| `initialize` handshake | `2024-11-05` โฆ **`2025-11-25`** | What today's clients speak. The server answers with the revision asked for, or with the `2025-11-25` ceiling when the request asks for something newer. |
| Per-request envelope | **`2026-07-28`** | A request carrying the `2026-07-28` `_meta` envelope opens a modern connection. |
Both revisions are pinned in
[`tests/test_protocol_version.py`](https://github.com/malkreide/swiss-ip-mcp/blob/HEAD/tests/test_protocol_version.py) and asserted
against the installed SDK, so a Dependabot bump of `mcp` cannot move either one
silently. This server builds no ASGI app to send an `initialize` through, so
the gate asserts the SDK constants rather than a measured response โ the
weaker form, named rather than left unsaid.
Note that the SDK's `LATEST_PROTOCOL_VERSION` is an alias for the **modern**
era, not for the handshake era โ pinning against it alone would leave the era
that current clients actually negotiate free to drift.
**Update policy.** When the gate fails, do not edit the constant blindly: read
the spec changelog between the two revisions, verify the server still behaves,
then move the constant, this section, `README.de.md` and
[`CHANGELOG.md`](https://github.com/malkreide/swiss-ip-mcp/blob/HEAD/CHANGELOG.md) together.
---
## Data Source
All data is provided by the [IGE/IPI Swissreg Datadelivery API](https://www.swissreg.ch/public/apidocs/). The API is free after signing the usage terms, subject to a monthly data transfer quota. Check your remaining quota at any time using the `swiss_ip_get_quota` tool.
| Field | Value |
|-------|-------|
| Provider | Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property (IGE/IPI) |
| Source | Swissreg Datadelivery API โ |
| License / terms | [IGE/IPI Swissreg Datadelivery API Terms of Use](https://www.ige.ch/en/services/digital-resources/ip-data/data-delivery-api) |
**Provenance:** every tool response carries a `source` block (provider, source
URL, license) so downstream consumers retain attribution. The result envelope is
`{ source, total, count, match_type, results, next_page_token }`.
---
## Safety & Limits
- **Read-only:** All tools perform authenticated POST requests to the Swissreg API โ no data is written, modified, or deleted on any system.
- **No personal data:** The API returns public IP register entries (trademark names, patent titles, applicant organisations). No personally identifiable information (PII) is processed or stored by this server beyond what the IGE API returns in its public records.
- **Rate limits & quota:** The IGE Swissreg API enforces a monthly data transfer quota per account. Use the `swiss_ip_get_quota` tool to monitor remaining quota. The server enforces a 60s timeout per request. Avoid large `page_size` values (>20) for exploratory queries.
- **Authentication:** Credentials (`IGE_USERNAME`, `IGE_PASSWORD`) are read from environment variables at runtime and never logged or persisted.
- **Terms of service:** Data is subject to the [IGE Swissreg Datadelivery API terms of use](https://www.ige.ch/en/services/digital-resources/ip-data/data-delivery-api). A signed usage agreement with IGE/IPI is required before API access is granted.
- **Address list verified without credentials (2026-08-08).** Every address, the Keycloak realm and the `client_id` this server builds are the ones the source publishes. A null result โ and recorded as one, because a null result nobody wrote down is not one on the next pass. Three independent proofs, because one would not have carried:
- The IDP discriminates: `realms/egov` with wrong credentials โ `invalid_grant` ("Invalid user credentials"); an invented realm โ 404 "Realm does not exist"; an invented `client_id` โ `invalid_client`. So realm and client exist and only the credentials are missing.
- The realm declares its own token endpoint under `.well-known/openid-configuration` โ identical to the URL built here.
- The official API documentation states both addresses verbatim, including the `client_id` as a "constant string".
- **Why the third proof is needed:** the Swissreg API itself does **not** discriminate. A POST without a token returns 403, with an invented token 401 โ and a freely invented path under `/public/api/` returns exactly the same. A status code proves nothing there. `scripts/record_fixtures.py` re-measures this on every run and aborts if a control stops discriminating.
- **Response payloads are not recorded.** They need credentials; `PROVENANCE.md` lists them as NOT RECORDED with the measured status rather than giving them a date they never had. What stays unproven is the *shape* of the responses โ whether the XML fields are named as the parser reads them.
- **No guarantees:** This server is a community project, not affiliated with the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property (IGE/IPI). Availability depends on upstream API uptime.
---
## Related Servers
| Server | Content |
|--------|---------|
| [`zurich-opendata-mcp`](https://github.com/malkreide/zurich-opendata-mcp) | City of Zurich open data (CKAN, weather, parking, geodata) |
| [`fedlex-mcp`](https://github.com/malkreide/fedlex-mcp) | Swiss federal law via Fedlex SPARQL |
| [`swiss-transport-mcp`](https://github.com/malkreide/swiss-transport-mcp) | Public transport, disruptions, tickets, train formations |
| [`swiss-road-mobility-mcp`](https://github.com/malkreide/swiss-road-mobility-mcp) | Shared mobility, EV charging stations, traffic data |
| [`global-education-mcp`](https://github.com/malkreide/global-education-mcp) | UNESCO / OECD education data |
| [`patent-mcp`](https://github.com/malkreide/patent-mcp) | โ ๏ธ Deprecated โ superseded by this server |
---
## Contributing
See [`CONTRIBUTING.md`](https://github.com/malkreide/swiss-ip-mcp/blob/HEAD/CONTRIBUTING.md) ([Deutsch](https://github.com/malkreide/swiss-ip-mcp/blob/HEAD/CONTRIBUTING.de.md)) for how to
report bugs and submit changes.
---
## Security
See [`SECURITY.md`](https://github.com/malkreide/swiss-ip-mcp/blob/HEAD/SECURITY.md) for the security posture, hardening summary, and how to report a vulnerability.
---
## License
MIT License โ see [LICENSE](https://github.com/malkreide/swiss-ip-mcp/blob/HEAD/LICENSE)
---
## Author
**Hayal Oezkan** ยท [github.com/malkreide](https://github.com/malkreide)
## Installation
Run via [`uv`](https://docs.astral.sh/uv/)'s `uvx` โ no clone or manual install needed. Add to your MCP client config (`mcpServers` for Claude Desktop, Cursor and Windsurf; use a top-level `servers` key for VS Code in `.vscode/mcp.json`):
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"swiss-ip-mcp": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": [
"swiss-ip-mcp"
],
"env": {
"IGE_USERNAME": "",
"IGE_PASSWORD": ""
}
}
}
}
```
Requires credentials: set `IGE_USERNAME`, `IGE_PASSWORD` (replace the placeholder values above).