Patent Search MCP Server vs US Codex
A side-by-side look at the Patent Search MCP Server and US Codex MCP servers: transport, auth, tools, quality signals, and the config to install either one in Claude, Cursor, Windsurf or VS Code.
U
US CodexLegal · Remote HTTP/SSEFederal law: US Code, CFR, public laws, bills and executive orders, cross-linked and versioned.50GoodAuth: not declaredVerdict: choose Patent Search MCP Server for legal work as a local process; choose US Codex for legal over a hosted endpoint. You can also run both side by side in one mcpServers block.
Which MCP server should you choose?
Choose Patent Search MCP Server when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Legal domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- Its auth model fits you: API key required.
- You have the keys it needs:
PATENT_SEARCH_API_KEY. - You want tools like
balance, dossier, prosecution.
UChoose US Codex when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Legal domain.
- You prefer a remote HTTP/SSE transport.
- You want tools like
search, fetch, citations.
Feature & specification comparison
Rows where the two servers differ are marked.
| Spec | U US Codex | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Legal | Legal |
| Quality signal | 59/100 · Good | 50/100 · Good |
| Install command | Confirmed | Confirmed |
| Transport | Local subprocess (stdio) | Remote HTTP/SSE |
| Auth | API key required | Not declared |
| Pricing | Freemium | Not declared |
| Required env vars | PATENT_SEARCH_API_KEY | None listed |
| Verified owner | Community listing | Community listing |
| GitHub stars | 2 | — |
| Directory activity | 1 views 0 installs 0 upvotes | 0 views 0 installs 0 upvotes |
| Tools | 11 | 5 |
| Full listing | View Patent Search MCP Server | View US Codex |
Tools & capabilities
Patent Search MCP Server tools 11
balanceReturn current credit balance + subscription status. Free. No arguments.dossierFull patent intelligence: bibliographic, claims, citations, family, classifications, similar documents, examiner stats — all bundled. **3 credits on fresh fetch; free on 24h cache hit.**prosecutionUSPTO file-wrapper documents (Office Actions, responses, amendments, etc.) for a US patent. Free.oa_analyzeAI analysis of a USPTO Office Action — rejection grounds, cited prior art, suggested response arguments. **First 5 analyses per application are free; subsequent analyses cost 1 credit each.**examinerExaminer name, art unit, total applications, allowance rate, average pendency. Free.querySingle optimized Boolean query string for **manual paste** into Google Patents. Does NOT execute. **1 credit.**search**Executes** a multi-query patent search against Google Patents server-side and returns ranked, deduplicated hits. **1 credit.**similarGoogle Patents' similar-documents ranking for a given patent. Free.citationsBackward + forward citations for a patent. Each citation flags whether it was examiner-cited. Free.familyPatent family — continuations, divisionals, foreign counterparts. Free.cpcCPC classification code lookup. Free. v1.0 covers all sections + ~80 common subclasses; subgroup descriptions land in v1.2.
US Codex tools 5
searchSearch the full text of federal law: United States Code, Code of Federal Regulations, Public Laws, Congressional Bills, Executive Orders. Results are ranked across every corpus unless `corpus` narrows them, each with its citation, a link and the matching words. A query that is only a citation returns that document instead.fetchRead a document or page of the site as markdown: a code section with its notes, a title's or unit's contents, a public law, a bill (at any version), an executive order. Paths also reach the corpus indexes ("/usc", "/pl?congress=118", "/bills?congress=119", "/eo") and each code's releases ("/usc/releases"). Links in the markdown are paths this tool accepts.citationsWhat cites a document: each corpus's citations of a code section, law, bill or order, with the words that cite it, and for a statute the regulations issued under it. Lists come 50 at a time; `list` and `offset` page through one.historyHow a document came to be: for a code section, the laws that enacted and amended it and every release that changed its text; for a law or bill, its legislative history, each version linked to its text and to what changed from the one before.compareWhat changed in a code section between two releases: each provision added, removed, changed or renumbered, the edits marked <del> and <ins>. To compare versions of a bill, take the 'what changed' link from its history.
Ready-to-paste client configs
Paste either block (or both) into your client config, e.g. claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json. We only show a config when the install command is confirmed.
Patent Search MCP Server
{
"mcpServers": {
"smythmyke-patent-search-mcp-server": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"patent-search-mcp-server"
],
"env": {
"PATENT_SEARCH_API_KEY": "YOUR_PATENT_SEARCH_API_KEY_HERE"
}
}
}
}
US Codex
{
"mcpServers": {
"us-codex": {
"url": "https://uscodex.org/mcp"
}
}
}
Frequently asked questions
Patent Search MCP Server is categorized under Legal and uses a local stdio subprocess. US Codex belongs to Legal and uses a remote HTTP/SSE transport. Pick Patent Search MCP Server for legal work and US Codex for legal.
Copy the mcpServers block from the config section on this page into your client's config (for example claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json), then fully restart the client.
Patent Search MCP Server is listed as freemium — a free tier with paid plans. Auth: api key required. US Codex has no declared pricing — check the project's own site. If a server needs environment variables such as API keys, define them under the env key in your client's MCP config.
Yes. MCP clients support multiple servers: add smythmyke-patent-search-mcp-server and us-codex as separate keys in the same mcpServers object, and your assistant will call tools from either one.
On AllMCPs, Patent Search MCP Server has a quality signal of 59/100 (Good) with 1 views, 0 installs and 2 GitHub stars. US Codex has 50/100 (Good) with 0 views, 0 installs and 0 GitHub stars.