JohnVC This workflow corresponds to n8n.io template #17779 — we link there as the canonical source.
This workflow follows the Apifyn8N Nodes Apify → Google Sheets recipe pattern — see all workflows that pair these two integrations.
The workflow JSON
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{
"name": "Automate patent monitoring on Google Patents into Google Sheets",
"nodes": [
{
"id": "d9a2b316-0001-4e01-9001-000000000001",
"name": "Every Monday morning",
"type": "n8n-nodes-base.scheduleTrigger",
"position": [
0,
520
],
"parameters": {
"rule": {
"interval": [
{
"field": "weeks",
"triggerAtDay": [
1
],
"triggerAtHour": 8
}
]
}
},
"typeVersion": 1.2
},
{
"id": "d9a2b316-0002-4e02-9002-000000000002",
"name": "Set your patent watch list",
"type": "n8n-nodes-base.set",
"position": [
260,
520
],
"parameters": {
"options": {},
"assignments": {
"assignments": [
{
"id": "d9a2b316-0011-4e11-9011-+1234567890",
"name": "watchTerms",
"type": "array",
"value": "[\"solid state battery\", \"sodium ion battery\"]"
},
{
"id": "d9a2b316-0012-4e12-9012-+1234567890",
"name": "assignee",
"type": "string",
"value": ""
},
{
"id": "d9a2b316-0013-4e13-9013-+1234567890",
"name": "country",
"type": "string",
"value": "US"
},
{
"id": "d9a2b316-0014-4e14-9014-+1234567890",
"name": "lookbackDays",
"type": "number",
"value": "90"
}
]
}
},
"typeVersion": 3.4
},
{
"id": "d9a2b316-0003-4e03-9003-000000000003",
"name": "One search per watch term",
"type": "n8n-nodes-base.splitOut",
"position": [
520,
520
],
"parameters": {
"include": "allOtherFields",
"options": {},
"fieldToSplitOut": "watchTerms"
},
"typeVersion": 1
},
{
"id": "d9a2b316-0004-4e04-9004-000000000004",
"name": "Search Google Patents",
"type": "@apify/n8n-nodes-apify.apify",
"position": [
780,
520
],
"parameters": {
"memory": 1024,
"actorId": "johnvc~google-patents-api",
"resource": "Actors",
"operation": "Run actor and get dataset",
"customBody": "={{ JSON.stringify({ q: $json.watchTerms, assignee: $json.assignee || undefined, country: $json.country, after: 'publication:' + $now.minus({ days: $json.lookbackDays }).toFormat('yyyyMMdd'), num: 10, max_pages: 1, no_cache: true, include_ai_summary: false }) }}"
},
"typeVersion": 1
},
{
"id": "d9a2b316-0005-4e05-9005-000000000005",
"name": "Keep terms that returned patents",
"type": "n8n-nodes-base.filter",
"position": [
1040,
520
],
"parameters": {
"options": {},
"conditions": {
"options": {
"version": 2,
"leftValue": "",
"caseSensitive": true,
"typeValidation": "loose"
},
"combinator": "and",
"conditions": [
{
"id": "d9a2b316-0041-4e41-9041-+1234567890",
"operator": {
"type": "array",
"operation": "notEmpty",
"singleValue": true
},
"leftValue": "={{ $json.patents }}",
"rightValue": ""
}
]
}
},
"typeVersion": 2.2
},
{
"id": "d9a2b316-0006-4e06-9006-000000000006",
"name": "One row per patent",
"type": "n8n-nodes-base.code",
"position": [
1300,
520
],
"parameters": {
"jsCode": "// Expand each search into one row per patent, and flatten the fields that\n// arrive as arrays so a spreadsheet cell can hold them.\nconst weekOf = $now.toFormat('yyyy-MM-dd');\n\nconst list = (v) => (Array.isArray(v) ? v.filter(Boolean).join(', ') : String(v || ''));\nconst clip = (s, n) => {\n const v = String(s || '').replace(/\\s+/g, ' ').trim();\n return v.length > n ? v.slice(0, n - 3) + '...' : v;\n};\n\nconst rows = [];\nfor (const item of $input.all()) {\n const term = (item.json.search_parameters || {}).q || '';\n for (const p of item.json.patents || []) {\n rows.push({\n json: {\n 'Week of': weekOf,\n 'Watch term': term,\n Title: clip(p.title, 200),\n Assignee: list(p.assignee),\n Inventor: list(p.inventor),\n 'Publication number': p.publication_number || '',\n 'Publication date': p.publication_date || '',\n 'Filing date': p.filing_date || '',\n Summary: clip(p.snippet, 500),\n 'Patent link': p.patent_link || '',\n },\n });\n }\n}\nreturn rows;\n"
},
"typeVersion": 2
},
{
"id": "d9a2b316-0007-4e07-9007-000000000007",
"name": "Append patents to sheet",
"type": "n8n-nodes-base.googleSheets",
"position": [
1560,
520
],
"parameters": {
"columns": {
"value": {},
"mappingMode": "autoMapInputData",
"matchingColumns": []
},
"options": {},
"operation": "append",
"sheetName": {
"__rl": true,
"mode": "list",
"value": ""
},
"documentId": {
"__rl": true,
"mode": "list",
"value": ""
}
},
"typeVersion": 4.5
},
{
"id": "d9a2b316-0090-4e90-9090-000000000090",
"name": "Sticky Note",
"type": "n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote",
"position": [
-620,
40
],
"parameters": {
"width": 520,
"height": 1240,
"content": "## Automate patent monitoring on Google Patents into Google Sheets\n\nNo IP watch service and no per-seat subscription. Every week this searches Google Patents for the technologies you are watching and appends one row per patent to your sheet: title, assignee, inventor, publication and filing dates, the abstract, and a link to the patent itself.\n\nSet an assignee and it becomes a competitor watch instead: every patent a named company has published inside your date window, which is the closest thing there is to reading their R&D roadmap.\n\n**Who's it for**\nR&D teams tracking a field, IP counsel watching a competitor's filings, and founders who want to know whether the thing they are about to build is already patented.\n\n**How it works**\n1. A schedule trigger fires once a week\n2. One Set node holds your watch terms, an optional assignee, and the lookback window\n3. The Apify node runs one Google Patents search per term\n4. A Code node turns each search into one row per patent\n\n**Setup**\n1. Create a free Apify account and add your API token to the Apify credential\n2. Connect your Google account in the Sheets node and pick a spreadsheet\n3. Replace the example watch terms in the config node, and set an assignee if you want to follow one company\n\n**Good to know**\nAbout 4 cents per watch term per week, so three terms is roughly 12 cents a week.\nPatents publish about 18 months after filing, so this shows what is newly PUBLISHED, not newly invented.\nKeep the lookback at 90 days or more. Publication happens in batches and a narrow niche can go weeks with nothing, so a 30 or 60 day window often returns an empty sheet rather than a useful one.\nRows are appended every run, so de-duplicate on Publication number when you chart it.\nActor: https://apify.com/johnvc/google-patents-api?fpr=9n7kx3&fp_sid=n8n"
},
"typeVersion": 1
},
{
"id": "d9a2b316-0091-4e91-9091-000000000091",
"name": "Sticky Note1",
"type": "n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote",
"position": [
-40,
60
],
"parameters": {
"color": 7,
"width": 240,
"height": 240,
"content": "### 1. Schedule\nRuns every Monday morning. Change the cadence, or swap in a manual trigger while you test."
},
"typeVersion": 1
},
{
"id": "d9a2b316-0092-4e92-9092-000000000092",
"name": "Sticky Note2",
"type": "n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote",
"position": [
220,
60
],
"parameters": {
"color": 7,
"width": 240,
"height": 240,
"content": "### 2. Your input\nWatch terms, an optional assignee, the country, and how far back to look. This is the only node you edit. Keep the lookback at 90 days or more."
},
"typeVersion": 1
},
{
"id": "d9a2b316-0093-4e93-9093-000000000093",
"name": "Sticky Note3",
"type": "n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote",
"position": [
480,
60
],
"parameters": {
"color": 7,
"width": 240,
"height": 240,
"content": "### 3. Fan out\nTurns your watch list into one Google Patents search each."
},
"typeVersion": 1
},
{
"id": "d9a2b316-0094-4e94-9094-000000000094",
"name": "Sticky Note4",
"type": "n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote",
"position": [
740,
60
],
"parameters": {
"color": 7,
"width": 240,
"height": 240,
"content": "### 4. Search\nRuns the Google Patents API actor for one term. Add your Apify credential here."
},
"typeVersion": 1
},
{
"id": "d9a2b316-0095-4e95-9095-000000000095",
"name": "Sticky Note5",
"type": "n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote",
"position": [
1000,
60
],
"parameters": {
"color": 7,
"width": 240,
"height": 240,
"content": "### 5. Clean\nSkips any term that returned no patents, so blank rows never reach the sheet."
},
"typeVersion": 1
},
{
"id": "d9a2b316-0096-4e96-9096-000000000096",
"name": "Sticky Note6",
"type": "n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote",
"position": [
1260,
60
],
"parameters": {
"color": 7,
"width": 240,
"height": 240,
"content": "### 6. Shape\nOne row per patent, with the assignee and inventor lists flattened for a spreadsheet."
},
"typeVersion": 1
},
{
"id": "d9a2b316-0097-4e97-9097-000000000097",
"name": "Sticky Note7",
"type": "n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote",
"position": [
1520,
60
],
"parameters": {
"color": 7,
"width": 240,
"height": 240,
"content": "### 7. Deliver\nPick your spreadsheet and tab. Columns map automatically."
},
"typeVersion": 1
},
{
"id": "d9a2b316-0080-4e80-9080-000000000080",
"name": "Sticky Note8",
"type": "n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote",
"position": [
220,
860
],
"parameters": {
"color": 7,
"width": 400,
"height": 240,
"content": "### Why not sort by newest?\nSorting Google Patents by newest returns the newest patents overall and quietly ignores your search term. This uses relevance plus a publication-date window instead, which is what actually gives you new AND on-topic results."
},
"typeVersion": 1
},
{
"id": "d9a2b316-0081-4e81-9081-000000000081",
"name": "Sticky Note9",
"type": "n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote",
"position": [
660,
860
],
"parameters": {
"color": 7,
"width": 400,
"height": 240,
"content": "### Self-hosting n8n?\nThere is also a dedicated community node for this actor: `n8n-nodes-google-patents-api` on npm."
},
"typeVersion": 1
}
],
"settings": {
"executionOrder": "v1"
},
"connections": {
"One row per patent": {
"main": [
[
{
"node": "Append patents to sheet",
"type": "main",
"index": 0
}
]
]
},
"Every Monday morning": {
"main": [
[
{
"node": "Set your patent watch list",
"type": "main",
"index": 0
}
]
]
},
"Search Google Patents": {
"main": [
[
{
"node": "Keep terms that returned patents",
"type": "main",
"index": 0
}
]
]
},
"One search per watch term": {
"main": [
[
{
"node": "Search Google Patents",
"type": "main",
"index": 0
}
]
]
},
"Set your patent watch list": {
"main": [
[
{
"node": "One search per watch term",
"type": "main",
"index": 0
}
]
]
},
"Keep terms that returned patents": {
"main": [
[
{
"node": "One row per patent",
"type": "main",
"index": 0
}
]
]
}
}
}
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About this workflow
No IP watch service and no per-seat subscription. Every week this searches Google Patents for the technologies you follow and appends one row per patent to Google Sheets: title, assignee, inventor, publication and filing dates, the abstract, and a link to the patent. Runs every…
Source: https://n8n.io/workflows/17779/ — original creator credit. Request a take-down →
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