Document API Reference

The document APIs provide ways to search for a disclosure document, Confirmatory License, Government Support Clause, and other document types from the inventions and patents; or download a specific document.

The latest version of the Search Document and Download Document API, Version 2 (v2) contains the following changes:

Search Document

Search condition for documents is the combination of attributes of the searchDocumentCriteria JSON object. The system will only return documents that are granted access permission to the user’s organization. Refer to Appendix D for samples of requests and responses.

Endpoint URI

This is an example of the endpoint for the Search Documents resource.

POST /iedison/api/v2/documents/search

Request Parameters

The request has the following elements:

Headers: These are the request headers such as Accept or Content-Type. The Accept header defines the expected response format when the API returns the response. The Accept header is required for all requests.

Body: The body contains the data that will be submitted as the POST request. When submitting a form, the format data and file content are sent in the body of the request.

The table below provides the explanation of the Search Document request header and body parameters that are expected by the iEdison API.

Request Parameter Description Required Data Type Version In
accept Specifies the response format that is expected. Set to “application/json”. Yes String v1+ header
documentSearchCriteria The JSON object that contains attributes used in the request. Refer to the table below for a description of the attributes. Yes String v1+ form-data

The table below lists the attributes that will be included in the searchDocumentCriteria parameter when searching for a document. The attributes are included in the JSON object as part of the searchDocumentCriteria form-data text element.

JSON Attribute Name Description Required Data Type Length Version
inventionReportNumber Automatically generated by iEdison for an Invention Report after data has been submitted, checked for errors, and verified. No String 100 v1+
inventionDocketNumber An internal reference number of the grantee/contractor organization to help track a reported Invention(s). No String 30 v1+
patentDocketNumber The Patent Docket Number is an internal reference number of the grantee/contractor organization to help track a reported Patent(s). No String 30 v1+
primaryAgency The Primary Agency designated for each Invention Report in iEdison. Click here for a list of valid abbreviations. No String 30 v1+
granteeOrganizationName The name of the organization established at registration. No String 100 v1+
titleElectionStatus The status of the title to rights in the reported Invention. Refer to Section 12.15 for a list of valid values. No String 80 v1+
inventionTitle The title of the Invention as it appears in the grantee/contractors employee’s Invention Report. No String 255 v1+
inventionReportDateFrom The From Date that the inventor disclosed in the subject Invention in writing to the recipient institution. Format: MM/DD/YYYY No String 10 v1+
inventionReportDateTo The To Date that the inventor disclosed in the subject Invention in writing to the recipient institution. Format: MM/DD/YYYY No String 10 v1+
patentFilingDateFrom The ‘starting from’ search date against the PCT, Provisional, Non-Provisional Patent application filing date. Format: MM/DD/YYYY No String 10 v1+
patentFilingDateTo The ‘up to’ search date against the PCT, Provisional, Non-Provisional Patent application filing date. Format: MM/DD/YYYY No String 10 v1+
patentApplicationType Patent Application Type of a record. Refer to Section 12.10 for a list of valid values. No String 25 v1+
patentStatus Indicates the status of the Patent. Refer to Section 12.13 for a list of valid values. No String 50 v1+
patentTitle The exact title of the U.S. Patent or Patent application as submitted by the Institution to iEdison or to the USPTO. No String 50 v1+
grantContractNumber The grant or contract number as specified by the agency. The format is defined by the agency. No String 50 v1+
inventorFirstName The first name of the inventor. No String 50 v1+
inventorLastName The last name of the inventor. No String 50 v1+
lastUpdatedFrom Search the “From Date” of the document last updated date. This will use the last updated date for the invention, but if that is null, then the created date will be used. Format: MM/DD/YYYY No String 10 v1+
lastUpdatedTo Search the “To Date” of the document last updated date. Format: MM/DD/YYYY No String 10 v1+
lastUpdatedDate Document last updated date. Format: MM/DD/YYYY No String 10 v1+
documentType The document type name for the invention and patent. Refer to Section 12.23 for a list of valid values. No String 60 v2
limit Total number of records to be retrieved per page. This field must be a number. Max Value = 100, Default = 20 No Integer   v1+
offset Indicates the page index. Default = 0 No Integer   v1+

Response Parameters

This section contains response examples for searching for documents.

Response Parameter Description Data Type Version
totalRecords Total number of records for the search. Number v1+
limit The limit used in the request Integer v1+
offset The offset used in the request Integer v1+
documentsList A list of document response Objects. Refer to Section 10.1.4 for a description of the attributes. Array [JSON Object] v1+

Document Response Data Object

The JSON attributes are described in the table below.

JSON Attribute Name Description Data Type Version
inventionReportNumber A system generated sequence number used for ID of the Patent. String v1+
patentDocketNum The Patent Docket Number is an internal reference number of the grantee/contractor organization to help track a reported Patent(s). This is supported in v1 endpoint only. This field is no longer supported in document v2 APIs. String v1
patentDocketNumber The Patent Docket Number is an internal reference number of the grantee/contractor organization to help track a reported Patent(s). String v2
documentType The unique identifier for document category types. Number v1+
documentTypeName The name of document category types. String v1+
documentID The unique identifier. String v1+
fileName The name of the download file. String v1+
documentCreateDate The date the document was created. String v1+
documentUpdateDate The date the document was last update. String v1+

Download Document

The Download Document API requires a Document ID. This information is available by performing a document search which returns one or multiple records. Each returned document will have its own document ID. Refer to Appendix D for samples of requests and responses.

Endpoint URI

This is an example of the endpoint for the Download Document resource.

POST /iedison/api/v2/documents/download

Request Parameters

The request has the following elements:

Headers: These are the request headers such as Accept or Content-Type. The Accept header defines the expected response format when the API returns the response. The Accept header is required for all requests.

Body: The body contains the data that will be submitted as the POST request. When submitting a form, the format data and file content are sent in the body of the request.

The table below provides the explanation of the Download Document request header and body parameters that are expected by the iEdison API.

Request Parameter Description Required Data Type Version In
accept Set to / Yes String v1+ header
document The document JSON objects containing fields to be used in the search download file. Refer to the table below for a description of the attributes. Yes String v1+ form-data

The table below lists the attributes that will be included in the document parameter when downloading a document. The attributes are included in the JSON object as part of the document form-data text element.

JSON Attribute Name Description Required Data Type Length Version
documentID The unique document identifier. Yes Number   v1+

Response Parameters

Based on the request parameters, the Download Document API provides the below response parameters.

Response Parameter Description Data Type Version
file The document file content in stream. application/octet-stream v1+