prior-art-summary
Generates structured summaries of prior art references for patent prosecution, validity analysis, and freedom-to-operate assessments. Maps disclosures to claim elements with precise citations. Use when summarizing prior art, analyzing patent landscapes, mapping references to claims, or preparing office action responses.
Best use case
prior-art-summary is best used when you need a repeatable AI agent workflow instead of a one-off prompt.
Generates structured summaries of prior art references for patent prosecution, validity analysis, and freedom-to-operate assessments. Maps disclosures to claim elements with precise citations. Use when summarizing prior art, analyzing patent landscapes, mapping references to claims, or preparing office action responses.
Teams using prior-art-summary should expect a more consistent output, faster repeated execution, less prompt rewriting.
When to use this skill
- You want a reusable workflow that can be run more than once with consistent structure.
When not to use this skill
- You only need a quick one-off answer and do not need a reusable workflow.
- You cannot install or maintain the underlying files, dependencies, or repository context.
Installation
Claude Code / Cursor / Codex
Manual Installation
- Download SKILL.md from GitHub
- Place it in
.claude/skills/prior-art-summary/SKILL.mdinside your project - Restart your AI agent — it will auto-discover the skill
How prior-art-summary Compares
| Feature / Agent | prior-art-summary | Standard Approach |
|---|---|---|
| Platform Support | Not specified | Limited / Varies |
| Context Awareness | High | Baseline |
| Installation Complexity | Unknown | N/A |
Frequently Asked Questions
What does this skill do?
Generates structured summaries of prior art references for patent prosecution, validity analysis, and freedom-to-operate assessments. Maps disclosures to claim elements with precise citations. Use when summarizing prior art, analyzing patent landscapes, mapping references to claims, or preparing office action responses.
Where can I find the source code?
You can find the source code on GitHub using the link provided at the top of the page.
SKILL.md Source
# Prior Art Summary Synthesizes prior art references into structured summaries mapping disclosures to claim elements for rapid landscape assessment. ## Prerequisites - **Prior art references** — patents, applications, publications, product docs, or public disclosures - **Invention description** — claims or specification under analysis - **Scope directive** — prosecution, validity/invalidity, or FTO ## Workflow ### 1. Executive Overview Produce a table covering: - Total references reviewed (count) - Most material references (top 3-5 with one-line rationale) - Key gaps (claim elements with no or weak coverage) - Art type breakdown (patents / applications / publications / other) ### 2. Individual Reference Summaries For each reference: | Field | Content | |-------|---------| | Document ID | Patent/pub number, DOI, or identifier | | Title | Full title | | Date | Pub/issue date; note effective prior art date if different | | Inventor(s)/Author(s) | Names | | Technical field | CPC/IPC classes or subject domain | | Assignee/Publisher | Entity | Then include: - **Disclosure summary** — 2-4 sentences on core technical contribution - **Key features** — bulleted list with exact quoted language and precise citation (¶, col:line, page, figure) - **Gaps** — what the reference does NOT disclose relative to the invention ### 3. Claim-Element Mapping | Claim Element | Ref. 1 | Ref. 2 | Ref. 3 | |--------------|--------|--------|--------| | Element A | ¶[0032], Fig. 3 | — | p. 12 | | Element B | — | Col. 4:15-22 | — | Legend: `✓` full disclosure, `~` partial, `—` absent. Always include citation location. ### 4. Combination Analysis For each potentially obvious combination: - **References combined** — which refs - **Motivation to combine** — analogous art rationale, explicit suggestions, design incentives - **Missing elements** — what remains undisclosed even in combination ### 5. Timeline Chronological list by effective date, noting critical date boundaries (priority, filing, publication dates). ## Guardrails - **Cite precisely** — every factual assertion needs ¶, col:line, page, or figure number - **No legal conclusions** — organize facts for attorney judgment; never state claims are anticipated or obvious - **Analogous art** — flag references outside the immediate field with rationale for qualification - **Prior art status** — note references whose qualification depends on date analysis (pre-AIA vs. AIA § 102) [VERIFY] - **Foreign-language refs** — flag language, provide translated key passages, note if machine-translated - **Figures** — describe depicted features with enough detail to be useful without viewing the original - **Terminology** — define specialized terms on first use in brackets - **Order by relevance** to claim elements; use chronological only if requested or analytically significant
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