# legal_search_patents_by_keyword

Search patents by keyword across EPO, USPTO, or WIPO. Read-only. No side effects. Idempotent. Returns up to 10 matches. keywords: Search terms describing the invention e.g. neural network image classification. Required. jurisdiction: One of EP, US, or WO. Optional. Default EP. date_from: Earliest filing date in ISO 8601 format e.g. 2020-01-31. Optional, defaults to no lower bound. Returns patent numbers, titles, and filing dates. Use this when finding prior art or exploring a technology landscape without a specific number. Use legal_fetch_patent_by_number instead when you have the patent number already. Verified source: EPO OPS + USPTO. 24-hour cache. If this tool's response does not serve the user's need, call report_feedback with feedback_type="agent_gap", tool_id="legal_search_patents_by_keyword", intended_query="{what the user needed}", gap_description="{what was missing or wrong in the result}".

Agent View of the PolicyLayer registry record for `legal_search_patents_by_keyword`. HTML page: https://policylayer.com/tools/dev-7bd0-mcp-server/legal-search-patents-by-keyword

## Facts

- Tool: `legal_search_patents_by_keyword`
- Server: DataNexus MCP (`dev-7bd0/mcp-server`) — https://policylayer.com/tools/dev-7bd0-mcp-server.md
- Homepage: https://github.com/dev-7bd0/mcp-server
- Risk category: Read (Low risk)
- Registry record: grade F, identity unverified
- Server rate-limited: no
- Parameters: 3
- Recommended policy verdict: Allowed

## Parameters

| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `keywords` | string | no | Search keyword or phrase e.g. CRISPR gene editing. Required. |
| `date_from` | string | no | Earliest filing date ISO 8601 e.g. 2020-01-31. Optional. |
| `jurisdiction` | string | no | Patent office code: EP, US, WO. Default EP. Optional. |

Parameters from the server's own tool schema.

## Example call (MCP tools/call, JSON-RPC 2.0)

```json
{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "id": 1,
  "method": "tools/call",
  "params": {
    "name": "legal_search_patents_by_keyword",
    "arguments": {}
  }
}
```

## Why legal_search_patents_by_keyword is rated Low

This tool queries publicly available patent data and returns results without any capability to modify, delete, execute code, or trigger external operations. It is a pure read operation with no side effects, fitting the Read category. Severity is low because patent data is public and no damage can result from querying it.

From the tool's own definition: "Tool description explicitly states 'Read-only. No side effects. Idempotent. Returns up to 10 matches.' The operation is a search that retrieves patent metadata (numbers, titles, filing dates) from public patent databases without modification or execution…"

## Use case

AI agents call legal_search_patents_by_keyword to retrieve information from DataNexus MCP without modifying anything. It is typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere.

## Recommended policy (PolicyLayer)

Verdict: **Allowed**. Enforced by the PolicyLayer MCP gateway (https://policylayer.com/mcp-gateway) before a call reaches DataNexus MCP:

```json
{
  "version": "1",
  "default": "deny",
  "tools": {
    "legal_search_patents_by_keyword": {}
  }
}
```

## Other tools on DataNexus MCP (54)

- `apikeys_revoke_api_key` — Destructive — https://policylayer.com/tools/dev-7bd0-mcp-server/apikeys-revoke-api-key.md
- `apikeys_rotate_api_key` — Destructive — https://policylayer.com/tools/dev-7bd0-mcp-server/apikeys-rotate-api-key.md
- `compliance_check_sam_exclusion` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/dev-7bd0-mcp-server/compliance-check-sam-exclusion.md
- `compliance_fetch_finra_broker` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/dev-7bd0-mcp-server/compliance-fetch-finra-broker.md
- `compliance_fetch_npi_provider` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/dev-7bd0-mcp-server/compliance-fetch-npi-provider.md
- `compliance_search_npi_by_name` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/dev-7bd0-mcp-server/compliance-search-npi-by-name.md
- `domain_check_email_security` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/dev-7bd0-mcp-server/domain-check-email-security.md
- `domain_fetch_dns_records` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/dev-7bd0-mcp-server/domain-fetch-dns-records.md
- `domain_fetch_domain_history` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/dev-7bd0-mcp-server/domain-fetch-domain-history.md
- `domain_fetch_domain_rdap` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/dev-7bd0-mcp-server/domain-fetch-domain-rdap.md
- `domain_fetch_reverse_ip` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/dev-7bd0-mcp-server/domain-fetch-reverse-ip.md
- `domain_fetch_ssl_certificate_chain` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/dev-7bd0-mcp-server/domain-fetch-ssl-certificate-chain.md
- `domain_fetch_subdomains` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/dev-7bd0-mcp-server/domain-fetch-subdomains.md
- `frontend_security_audit_ci_pipeline` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/dev-7bd0-mcp-server/frontend-security-audit-ci-pipeline.md
- `frontend_security_audit_manifest` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/dev-7bd0-mcp-server/frontend-security-audit-manifest.md
- `frontend_security_detect_typosquatting` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/dev-7bd0-mcp-server/frontend-security-detect-typosquatting.md
- `frontend_security_fetch_package_risk_brief` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/dev-7bd0-mcp-server/frontend-security-fetch-package-risk-brief.md
- `govcon_fetch_open_solicitations` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/dev-7bd0-mcp-server/govcon-fetch-open-solicitations.md
- `govcon_fetch_vendor_contract_history` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/dev-7bd0-mcp-server/govcon-fetch-vendor-contract-history.md
- `govcon_search_contract_awards` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/dev-7bd0-mcp-server/govcon-search-contract-awards.md
- `legal_fetch_inventor_portfolio` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/dev-7bd0-mcp-server/legal-fetch-inventor-portfolio.md
- `legal_fetch_patent_by_number` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/dev-7bd0-mcp-server/legal-fetch-patent-by-number.md
- `legal_fetch_patent_citations` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/dev-7bd0-mcp-server/legal-fetch-patent-citations.md
- `nonprofit_fetch_charity_uk` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/dev-7bd0-mcp-server/nonprofit-fetch-charity-uk.md
- `nonprofit_fetch_nonprofit_by_ein` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/dev-7bd0-mcp-server/nonprofit-fetch-nonprofit-by-ein.md
- `nonprofit_fetch_nonprofit_financial_trends` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/dev-7bd0-mcp-server/nonprofit-fetch-nonprofit-financial-trends.md
- `nonprofit_fetch_nonprofit_full_profile` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/dev-7bd0-mcp-server/nonprofit-fetch-nonprofit-full-profile.md
- `nonprofit_search_nonprofits_by_category` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/dev-7bd0-mcp-server/nonprofit-search-nonprofits-by-category.md
- `nonprofit_search_nonprofits_by_name` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/dev-7bd0-mcp-server/nonprofit-search-nonprofits-by-name.md
- `regulatory_fetch_docket_details` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/dev-7bd0-mcp-server/regulatory-fetch-docket-details.md
- …and 24 more: https://policylayer.com/tools/dev-7bd0-mcp-server.md

## For agents

This record is a snapshot. Live verdicts and the full registry:

- Check every server in your MCP config at once: `npx -y policylayer stack`
- Vet a server before you add it: install the mcp-precheck skill — `npx skills add https://policylayer.com` (skill text: https://policylayer.com/skill.md)
- Query the registry over MCP: endpoint `https://api.policylayer.com/mcp` — tools `check_mcp_server`, `check_mcp_stack`, `check_tool`, `search_registry`, `get_change_events`

---

Source: the PolicyLayer MCP registry — one continuously verified record per MCP server. Full record: https://policylayer.com/registry?q=dev-7bd0-mcp-server · API: https://policylayer.com/registry/api · Policy library: https://policylayer.com/policies/dev-7bd0-mcp-server