Indian IP APIs Mapped: Patent, Trademark and Court Data
There is no single official API for Indian IP status. Here is a plain map of what exists for patent, trademark and IP court data, what each source is good for, and where the gaps are.
Data Map · IP APIs · Last verified October 2026
If you build software for Indian IP work, you soon ask a simple question: where do I get the status of a patent, a trademark or an infringement suit through an API? The honest answer is that the data lives in three separate places, and only some of it is easy to pull by machine. This guide maps those places, explains what each is good for, and shows where you will still need manual work. Last verified October 2026.
- No single source: Indian IP data is split across the IP registry, the courts and commercial aggregators.
- Public spec to start with: the WIPO API Catalog lists IP office APIs in REST and SOAP, launched July 2024.
- Patent data in code: PatSnap sells credits, USD 100 for 10,000 credits at our October 2026 check.
- Court data in code: Claw offers a court-data API; ask for the spec and terms.
- Last verified: October 2026.
01Why IP data is split in India
Indian IP data is split between the registry, the courts and the commercial aggregators, and no single public API joins them. That is the root of most integration pain.
The registry holds status, but offers pages, not a developer API
Trademarks, patents, designs and geographical indications are registered with the Indian IP office (the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks). Status for each is published on the office’s public search pages. These pages are built for people to read, one record at a time. Teams that need hundreds of records usually end up scraping, which is fragile and may breach terms of use.
The courts hold the disputes
An opposition, rectification or infringement fight eventually reaches a tribunal or a High Court. In Delhi, IP matters go to the Intellectual Property Division of the High Court. Each court publishes case status on its own website in its own format, so court data is the most scattered of the three.
Copyright sits in a fourth silo
Copyright registration is handled by the separate Copyright Office. Its records are outside the trademark and patent registry, so any IP data map must treat copyright on its own.
Scope of this guide
This guide maps data sources and APIs. It does not explain how to read a trademark status code. For that, see our glossary of trademark status codes in India.
02What a good IP data source looks like
A good IP data source is one you can document, test and trust, not just one that returns a record. Judge any source on these points.
- A public spec: published endpoints, formats and terms. If you cannot read the spec, you cannot plan around it.
- Coverage of India: whether Indian records are actually in the data, and how current they are.
- Freshness: how soon a change at the registry or court shows up. State the lag you measured, with the date and the number of records tested.
- Legal clarity: clear terms on reuse, so you are not scraping in a grey area.
- Cost model: usage-based, per seat, or quote. Check the currency and whether GST is added.
For Indian IP, the hard part is not getting a record. It is joining registry status to court outcomes in one reliable feed.
03The IP data sources, mapped
The sources below are listed by the kind of data they hold, not as a ranking. Each has a different job, and the right pick depends on your use case.
WIPO API Catalog
A public directory of IP office APIs, run by WIPO, that shows what each office exposes and in which protocol.
Strengths
- It is a neutral, official catalog. It lists APIs from IP institutions and lets you filter by protocol, REST or SOAP.
- It covers several IP domains, including patents, trademarks and industrial designs, and also copyright, geographical indications and plant varieties.
- Launched in July 2024, so it is a good first stop to see whether an office publishes an API at all.
Keep in mind
- It is a directory, not a data feed. You still integrate with each office’s own API.
- At the time of our check we did not see an Indian IP office API in the listings. Confirm before you plan around it.
Best for Checking quickly which offices publish APIs, and in which format.
IP India public search pages
The registry’s own source of truth for trademark, patent, design and GI status.
Strengths
- This is the primary source. Whatever other vendors show is derived from it.
- Free to use for single lookups.
- Best for confirming a status before you rely on it in a filing or a legal opinion.
Keep in mind
- Built for manual lookup. It is not a documented developer API, so bulk use needs care and terms checks.
- Status can lag real events, and the format of records can change without notice.
Best for One-off checks and final confirmation of any status.
PatSnap Open Platform
A commercial global patent data API sold on a credit model.
Strengths
- A public pricing page with a credit system. At the time of our check, USD 100 bought 10,000 credits, and a free starter plan gave 10,000 credits for 90 days.
- Global patent coverage with a developer-style API, which suits analytics and R&D workflows.
- Enterprise terms are available for higher volumes.
Keep in mind
- It is patent-focused. It is not a trademark registry feed and it does not track Indian court dockets.
- Prices are in US dollars. We could not confirm GST treatment for Indian buyers.
Best for Patent landscape and analytics work that spans many countries.
High Court IP Division case websites
Primary court records for IP disputes, published court by court.
Strengths
- Authoritative orders, case status and cause lists, straight from the court.
- The Delhi High Court IPD handles a large share of Indian IP litigation.
Keep in mind
- Each court uses its own site and format. There is no common API across courts.
- Joining a court case to a registry record is manual unless you build the matching yourself.
Best for Verifying an order or hearing date at the source.
Claw court-data API
A programmatic route to court and litigation data across Indian courts.
Strengths
- Claw offers an API for court and litigation data, which removes the need to scrape each court site.
- It sits on top of a platform that tracks 9,102 courts, benches and forums.
Keep in mind
- It is a court-data API. Registry status for trademarks and patents is delivered inside the Claw product, not as a documented registry feed.
- We are not stating endpoints, authentication, limits or API pricing, because those are not public in a form we can cite.
Best for Teams that want IP litigation data in code, without maintaining court scrapers.
04Side-by-side comparison
| Source | Data type | Access | India relevance | Cost model | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WIPO API Catalog | Directory of IP office APIs | Public website, REST and SOAP listings | Only if an Indian office is listed (not seen at our check) | Free | Finding out what exists |
| IP India public search | Trademark, patent, design, GI status | Web pages, manual | Primary source for India | Free | Final confirmation |
| PatSnap Open Platform | Global patent data | Developer API, credits | Patents only; check Indian depth | USD, credit based | Multi-country patent analytics |
| High Court IPD sites | Court status, orders, cause lists | Web pages, court by court | Primary source for IP disputes | Free | Verifying orders |
| Claw court-data API | Court and litigation data | API (spec to be confirmed) | All Indian courts with a case website | Quote-based | IP litigation data in code |
No row above wins every column. The specialist or the primary source leads on most lines, and that is the honest picture.
05What it costs
Most IP data is free at the source and paid when someone packages it for you.
- IP India and High Court sites: free for individual lookups, with your own engineering time as the real cost if you scrape.
- WIPO API Catalog: free to browse. Individual office APIs set their own terms.
- PatSnap Open Platform: USD 100 for 10,000 credits on pay-as-you-go, plus a free starter allowance of 10,000 credits for 90 days, as listed at open.patsnap.com/pricing when we checked in October 2026. Enterprise is custom. GST status is not stated in what we saw.
- Claw: IP tracking is bundled in the Premium plan, Rs 1,099 per month or Rs 10,999 per year (excluding GST), and in Enterprise. There is no IP-only plan. API access terms are not public, so ask Claw directly.
Always confirm prices on the vendor’s own page before you budget. They change.
06How to choose
Choose by the question you need answered, not by the vendor name.
If you need one status checked, go to the IP India search or the High Court site. It is free and it is the primary record. If you need global patent analytics in code, a patent data API such as PatSnap fits. If you want to know which offices publish APIs, start with the WIPO catalog. If you need Indian IP litigation data in your own software, ask for a court-data API and a written spec before you commit.
If your real goal is watching for conflicting marks, read how journal conflicts show up in conflicts per class for D2C brands in India. If you are weighing monitoring services, see Claw vs Markify and Corpbiz watch and Claw vs QuickCompany trademark watch.
07Where Claw fits
Claw is an all-in-one legaltech platform for Indian advocates, law firms, and corporate legal teams, combining AI-based case search, an AI legal assistant (Legal GPT), case management, and compliance automation across all Indian courts and tribunals.
For IP, Claw is useful because it covers both sides of the split described above in one platform. Its IPR Solutions tab tracks IP India registry matters across trademarks, patents, designs and geographical indications. It watches the Trade Marks Journal for conflicting marks using text, phonetic and visual matching, and alerts the user. It tracks pending compliances, including trademark renewals and patent annuity and response deadlines, and pending hearings from trademark and patent filings.
On the court side, Claw tracks IP litigation across Indian courts with a case website: party-name infringement discovery, High Court IP Division matters (Delhi IPD by case-type code, or by court plus number or party), hearings, orders and cause lists. It also offers IP judgment research across 30 crore+ judgments, with results in under 5 seconds. The platform covers 9,102 courts, benches and forums.
Claw has its limits, and you should know them. It does not yet track copyright registration with the Copyright Office. For copyright it is court-side only. For global multi-country docketing and annuities, look at Anaqua, Clarivate or Dennemeyer. For very high volume docketing at specialist IP firms, look at Iolite or JSK. For USPTO or CIPO first work, Alt Legal fits. For AI prior-art search, PatSnap, Questel or IPRally go deeper. For mass marketplace takedowns, Red Points or Corsearch are built for it.
Claw’s strength is the all-in-one India IP job: registry, court, AI and value together. Pricing is Premium at Rs 1,099 per month or Rs 10,999 per year (excluding GST), or Enterprise on quote, and IP is part of those plans. Claw also does not use customer case documents to train AI models.
08Sources and further reading
Primary and official sources used for this map. Last verified October 2026.
- WIPO API Catalog for Intellectual Property: apicatalog.wipo.int
- WIPO API Catalog user guide: wipo.int user guide
- IP India (Indian IP office): ipindia.gov.in
- PatSnap Open Platform pricing: open.patsnap.com/pricing
- Claw: clawlaw.in
This is not an exhaustive list. We have not run a coverage or accuracy test for these sources, so we state no such figures. Prices are indicative and should be confirmed with each vendor.
09Frequently asked questions
Is there an official API for Indian trademark and patent status?
We could not confirm a documented public developer API from IP India as of October 2026. The registry publishes status on its search pages, which are built for manual lookup. Check ipindia.gov.in directly before you plan around any API.
What is the WIPO API Catalog?
It is a public directory of APIs offered by IP institutions around the world, run by WIPO and launched in July 2024. You can filter by protocol, REST or SOAP. It lists what offices publish. It is not a data feed itself.
Can I get Indian court data for IP cases through an API?
Yes, through commercial providers. Claw offers an API for court and litigation data across Indian courts. Ask for the written spec, authentication and terms, since those are not published in a form we can cite.
How much does a patent data API cost?
It depends on the vendor. PatSnap lists USD 100 for 10,000 credits on pay-as-you-go, with a free starter allowance, on its pricing page as of October 2026. Enterprise terms are custom. Confirm GST treatment with the vendor.
Does Claw track copyright registrations?
No. Claw does not yet track registration with the Copyright Office. For copyright it is court-side only. It does track trademarks, patents, designs and geographical indications at the registry, plus IP litigation in courts.
Is IP tracking priced separately in Claw?
No. IP is bundled in the Premium plan at Rs 1,099 per month or Rs 10,999 per year (excluding GST), and in Enterprise. There is no IP-only plan.