# Flowleap Patstat Graph > Graph Analytics over the PATSTAT snapshot — a named node and the relationships around it. Worldwide DOCDB citation networks (who cites a patent, examiner vs applicant origin), citation/family paths between two patents, family coverage, and an applicant's co-applicant network with top CPC and jurisdictions, every edge carrying a confidence tag (EXTRACTED/INFERRED/AMBIGUOUS) and a PATSTAT row provenance ref. Trigger when an agent needs a traversal answer about a specific patent or applicant — "who cites EP3477840", "how are patent X and patent Y connected", "why does this patent matter", "who does this company file with", where a family has coverage — as opposed to corpus aggregate counts (flowleap-patstat), free-text keyword analytics (flowleap analytics), or document retrieval (flowleap-patent/flowleap-ops). - Skill: `flowleap-ai/flowleap-patstat-graph` (Agent Skill) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add flowleap-ai/flowleap-patstat-graph` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/flowleap-ai/flowleap-patstat-graph/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Data & Analytics - Author: flowleap-ai (https://skillmd.com/u/flowleap-ai) - Updated: 2026-09-17 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/flowleap-ai/flowleap-patstat-graph --- # FlowLeap Patstat Graph (Graph Analytics) Auth and global flags: see `flowleap-shared`. Six native commands under `flowleap patstat graph` — no raw `api request` escape hatch needed. Like the rest of PATSTAT, this is a **named non-facade exception**: its own surface, no patent-data key, untouched by the provider-route retirement. ## Routing: which engine answers this? FlowLeap runs three analytics engines, split by **criteria shape**: | The question's essential criterion | Engine | Skill | |---|---|---| | Free-text keywords over title/abstract | Topic Analytics | `flowleap analytics` | | Structured criteria → a table of counts | Portfolio Analytics | `flowleap-patstat` | | **A named node and its relationships** | **Graph Analytics** | **this skill** | If the answer is a count, go to `flowleap-patstat`. If it is a *connection* — who cites what, what links these two patents, who co-files with whom — it is here. One known document's text, claims, or legal status is neither: use `flowleap-patent` / `flowleap-ops` / `flowleap-uspto`. ## The six commands ```bash flowleap patstat graph resolve EP3477840 flowleap patstat graph patent EP3477840 flowleap patstat graph applicant 98765 flowleap patstat graph neighborhood pat:56123456 --depth 2 --edge-types cites,cited_by flowleap patstat graph path EP3477840 US5960411 --max-hops 3 flowleap patstat graph explain EP3477840 --token-budget 4000 ``` | Command | Answers | |---|---| | `resolve ` | Number → its `pat:` anchor; free text → ranked applicant entities with `psn_id`, largest portfolio first | | `patent ` | The whole patent picture in one call: anchor, backward/forward citations, family, applicants/inventors/CPC, priorities | | `applicant ` | One harmonized entity: filings by year, top CPC, jurisdictions, co-applicants | | `neighborhood ` | Bounded 1–2 hop expansion, examiner citations ranked first | | `path ` | Shortest citation/family path between two patents | | `explain ` | Node card + top connections, the remainder grouped with TRUE counts | Node ids are `pat:`, `person:`, `family:`, `cpc:`. ## Start with resolve `resolve` is how a human input becomes a node id, and the graph verbs **refuse** rather than guess: - An ambiguous publication number is rejected with HTTP 400 `patstat_invalid_request` whose message names the candidates in prose. The verbs never prompt — run `resolve` and pass the `pat:` id you meant. - `applicant` takes a strict numeric `psn_id`, which only `resolve ` produces. A company name will not work there. - Passing a company name to a verb is refused the same way ("not a patent node"). `resolve` on a company name is a **pick-one list, not an answer** — present the ranked candidates and let the user choose. It exits 0. An ambiguous *number* exits 1, so a script can never mistake a pick-one prompt for a resolved anchor. ## Reading output **Human mode, `neighborhood` / `path` / `explain`** — the command prints the backend's line-per-fact `text` verbatim: ``` EP3477840 --cites [EXTRACTED 1.0]--> DE4302443 at=tls212:530028653 ``` Quote those lines with their confidence tag and `at=` ref rather than re-deriving facts. The Data Edition is in the header, and `TRUNCATED` notices carry verb-specific narrowing hints — never present a truncated listing as complete. **Human mode, `patent` / `applicant`** — section tables, in a fixed order. `graph patent`: Anchor → Applicants → Inventors → CPC Classifications → Backward Citations (Patents → Non-Patent Literature → Unresolved) → Forward Citations → DOCDB Family → Priority Claims → data-quality flags → edition and attribution footer. `graph applicant`: entity card → Filings by Year → Top CPC → Jurisdictions → Co-Applicants → footer. Every section header prints even when empty, showing `(none recorded)` — an absent section means no data, never a parsing slip. Truncation reads literally `Showing {shown} of {total} {label}.` — repeat the TRUE total when you quote the list. `Filings by Year` is uncapped; do not imply a cap there. **`--json`, every command** — the backend body exactly as it arrived, with no CLI envelope around it. There is no `body` wrapper: read `text`, `data`, `meta`, or `error` at the top level. ## Budgets and bounds - `--token-budget` (default 2000) trims the `text` serialization only; `--json` data stays complete. Out-of-range values are **clamped silently** into 100–20000 — never an error, so a huge budget simply gives you the maximum. - `--depth` (1 or 2) and `--max-hops` (1–4) are **refused** with a relayed `patstat_invalid_request` message stating the valid range. Read the message rather than guessing. - `--edge-types` takes a comma-separated subset of `cites`, `cited_by`, `in_family`, `has_applicant`, `has_inventor`, `classified_as`, `claims_priority`. Narrow with it instead of accepting a capped listing. `path` reporting `found: false` is a **200 and exit 0** — the search ran and there is no path within the hop limit. That is an answer, not a failure, and it carries its own caveat: absence is not proof of unrelatedness. Unrelated technology areas commonly have no path; raise `--max-hops` only if the connection actually matters. ## Confidence discipline Every edge carries `confidence`: - `EXTRACTED` (1.0) — a direct PATSTAT row. State as fact. - `INFERRED` (0.75–0.85) — a derived join (harmonized-name grouping, extended family). Hedge it: "grouped under the harmonized entity…", never bare fact. - `AMBIGUOUS` (≤0.3) — unresolved citations kept as ghost `doc:` nodes. Flag, don't omit — and never build conclusions on them. Provenance `at=:` points at the PATSTAT row asserting the relationship; carry it when the user needs to verify a claim. ## Errors | Code | Meaning | What to do | |---|---|---| | `patstat_invalid_request` (400) | Bad node, ambiguous input, or out-of-range bound | Read the relayed message — it states the fix. Resolve first if ambiguous. | | `patstat_patent_ambiguous` (422) | **Composites only**: a number matching several applications, with structured `error.candidates` | Render the candidates; never auto-pick. | | `patstat_patent_not_found` / `patstat_entity_not_found` (404) | Nothing matches in the loaded edition | Check the number, or the input may postdate the snapshot. | | `patstat_unavailable` (503) | No PATSTAT dataset configured on this deployment | Report plainly; do not retry-loop. | Exit codes follow the CLI-wide table. A `3` means the credential is missing or rejected — a human must run `flowleap auth login`; see `flowleap-auth` for the verification states. ## Snapshot honesty PATSTAT is a named snapshot, not live data. Every result names its Data Edition — carry it alongside any number you quote, and only compare numbers within the same edition. For **current legal status** (in force, lapsed, opposed) the snapshot is the wrong source: use the live document tools (`flowleap ops legal`, `flowleap-uspto`). Two boundaries worth stating to users: - **`graph applicant` vs `patstat portfolio`** draw entity boundaries differently. `applicant` is one harmonized `psn_id`; `portfolio` groups by name-prefix aliases. They may disagree about where one company ends and another begins — say which one a number came from. - **This engine vs `flowleap-citation`** are different citation universes. Here: the worldwide DOCDB citation network from the PATSTAT snapshot, with examiner-vs-applicant origin. There: USPTO office-action enriched citations — US only, with X/Y/A relevance categories. Neither is a superset; pick by whether the question is about worldwide structure or US examiner reasoning.