---

name: pa-workflow-ip-docketing-system-mcp-bridge
description: Use when a patent attorney or IP team needs to integrate Claude with a patent docketing system via MCP (Model Context Protocol) — pulling annuity calendars, office action deadlines, filing status, and portfolio renewal recommendations into AI-assisted workflow. Covers the bridge architecture, data schema, calendar management, and automated deadline alerts. Triggers when connecting Claude to a docketing system or when managing IP portfolio deadlines.
license: MIT
metadata:
id: pa-workflow.IP.docketing-system-MCP-bridge
category: pa-workflow
practice_area: IP
intent: ["workflow", "docketing", "MCP", "IP", "deadlines", "annuities"]
related:
- pa-workflow-ip-claim-drafting-from-disclosure
- pa-workflow-ip-office-action-response-drafter
- pa-workflow-ip-opposition-procedure-epo
priority: P1
source: Louis — HAQQ Legal AI (github.com/sboghossian/mini-claude-for-legal)
version: "1.0"

IP — Docketing System MCP Bridge

Patent docketing is one of the highest-risk activities in IP practice: a missed annuity payment or a lapsed office action deadline can result in permanent loss of patent rights. An MCP bridge between Claude and a patent docketing system enables AI-assisted deadline management, filing strategy, and portfolio analysis — while keeping the docketing system as the authoritative record.

Purpose

Bridge Claude to a patent docketing system to:

1. Pull annuity payment calendars and flag upcoming due dates
2. Retrieve office action deadlines and status
3. Provide filing strategy input across the portfolio
4. Surface renewal recommendations (pay / abandon / sell / licence)
5. Generate portfolio health reports

Architecture

MCP integration model

The docketing system exposes its data as a set of MCP tools. Claude queries these tools, reasons over the returned data, and produces analysis and recommendations.

Claude ←→ MCP Tool: ip_docket_query
              ├── get_annuities_due(days_ahead: int) → AnnuityRecord[]
              ├── get_office_actions_pending() → OARecord[]
              ├── get_application_status(app_number: str) → ApplicationRecord
              ├── get_portfolio_summary(client_id: str) → PortfolioSummary
              └── update_deadline_note(record_id: str, note: str) → void

Supported docketing systems commonly used in MENA and global IP practice:

• CPI (Computer Packages Inc.) — widely used in MENA
• Anaqua
• Foundation IP
• IPManager
• Custom systems via REST API → MCP wrapper

Data schema

AnnuityRecord:

{
  "app_number": "EP19234567.8",
  "patent_number": "EP3456789",
  "title": "Automated Contract Analysis System",
  "jurisdiction": "EP",
  "annuity_year": 7,
  "due_date": "2026-08-15",
  "grace_period_expiry": "2026-10-15",
  "annual_fee": 1020.00,
  "currency": "EUR",
  "status": "pending",
  "client": "HAQQ Inc"
}

OARecord:

{
  "app_number": "US18/123456",
  "office_action_type": "Non-Final Rejection",
  "date_issued": "2026-04-01",
  "statutory_deadline": "2026-10-01",
  "extended_deadline": "2027-01-01",
  "extension_fees": 3200.00,
  "status": "Response in preparation",
  "attorney": "Jane Doe"
}

Capabilities

1. Annuity calendar management

Pull all annuities due in the next 90/180/365 days. Present as a prioritised table:

Jurisdiction	App number	Title	Due date	Days remaining	Fee	Action
EP	EP3456789	Contract Analysis	2026-05-20	6	EUR 1,020	PAY — CRITICAL
US	US10,234,567	NLP Engine	2026-06-30	47	USD 1,800	Pay — HIGH
UAE	UAE/2023/12345	AI Risk Tool	2026-07-15	62	AED 3,000	Scheduled

Flag any annuity within 30 days as CRITICAL; within 90 days as HIGH.

2. Office action deadline management

Pull all pending office actions. For each, show:

• The rejection or objection type
• The statutory deadline (and extended deadline with extension fees)
• The assigned attorney
• Days remaining

Trigger an alert when any OA has fewer than 60 days to statutory deadline.

3. Filing strategy analysis

For a specific application or family, Claude can:

• Review the portfolio geography and recommend where continuation applications should be filed
• Identify gaps (competitor jurisdictions not covered)
• Flag applications that may be candidates for acceleration (PPH — Patent Prosecution Highway available between major patent offices)
• Identify abandoned applications whose reactivation might be possible within the applicable time window

4. Renewal recommendations

For each patent approaching a renewal decision (especially high-cost annuities), apply the renewal decision framework:

Criterion	Weight	Questions
Commercial use	High	Is the patented technology in active use or licensing?
Blocking value	High	Does the patent block a competitor's freedom to operate?
Portfolio role	Medium	Is it part of a claim family that protects a core product?
Jurisdiction value	Medium	Is the jurisdiction a key market or manufacturing location?
Annual cost	Variable	Does the annuity fee justify the remaining life?

Recommendation output:

• Pay: high commercial or blocking value; technology still deployed
• Watch: borderline value; review again at next annuity
• Abandon: no active use, no blocking value, low commercial territory
• Sell/Licence: no active use but third-party value exists — consider monetisation

5. Portfolio health report

Weekly or monthly portfolio summary:

• Total active patents by jurisdiction
• Annuities due next 30/90/180 days (count and cost)
• Office actions pending (count, oldest, most urgent)
• Applications in examination
• Renewals recommended for decision this quarter

Critical safeguards

• Claude is advisory only. Docketing system is the authoritative record. If there is any discrepancy between Claude's output and the docketing system, the docketing system governs.
• Verify every deadline before acting. Missed IP deadlines cannot always be recovered. Before instructing payment or abandonment, verify the deadline in the docketing system directly.
• Payment authorisation is human-controlled. Claude can recommend and schedule, but annuity payment requires human authorisation. Never configure the bridge to make payments automatically.
• Jurisdiction-specific grace periods. Many jurisdictions have grace periods for missed annuities — but they are short and fee-bearing. Do not miss the primary deadline in reliance on a grace period.

MENA IP office notes

Office	Notable rule
UAE (MOEI)	Patents valid 20 years; annuity payments required; Arabic filing for national phase
KSA (SAIP — Saudi Authority for IP)	National phase PCT; Arabic required; Sharia compliance review for biotech
GCC Patent Office	Covers all 6 GCC states with a single filing; annuities due annually
Egypt (EGPO)	National PCT phase; French-influenced examination procedure
EPO	Inter-regional coverage; annuities to national offices after grant

Related skills

• [[pa-workflow-ip-claim-drafting-from-disclosure]]
• [[pa-workflow-ip-office-action-response-drafter]]
• [[pa-workflow-ip-opposition-procedure-epo]]
• [[output-timeline-builder]]