I'm not a patent attorney, but if I were, I have no doubt that I would frequently have the need to get an electronic version of a patent or an application publication so that I could work with it on my iPad or on my computer. Accio Patent was created by patent attorney Corey McCaffrey to address this need. Give the app a number, and the app downloads the patent or the application publication. (That's a mouthful, so for the remainder of this review I'll just say "patent.") Better yet, the app streamlines the task of fetching a patent in multiple ways.
First, the app makes it as easy as possible to enter the patent number. You can type the number using a numeric keypad. Better yet, if you have access to a hard copy of the first page, you can tap the barcode button at the top right of the app to scan the barcode.
Once a patent number is entered, you can get some summary information about the patent.
Second, you can configure the app to automatically download the PDF file associated with the patent.
Better yet, the app can be told to always save a copy of the PDF file either in iCloud Drive or in Dropbox. The PDF file is stored in a folder called Accio Patent. This is nice because it lets you scan or enter a patent number on your iPhone and then, within seconds, the PDF file is available on your iPhone, your iPad, and your computer.
The app itself is free to download, and there is no charge to get summary information about a patent. If you want to download PDF files so that you can view them in the app or have them downloaded to iCloud and/or Dropbox, you need to pay for a subscription. The normal price is $4.99/month or $49.99/year, but for a limited time there is a discounted price of $1.99/month or $19.99/year.
When you start either a monthly or annual subscription, the app gives you the first seven days for free. Thus, you can kick the tires for a week and find out whether this app will be useful in your practice before you decide whether you want to spend money on it.
McCaffrey tells me that he is already thinking of ideas for new features to add in the future, such as potentially improving the metadata shown for each patent. And he also hopes that more countries add barcodes to their patent publications in the future because that is the fastest way to get an electronic copy of a patent.
I always love it when an attorney has an idea for a useful iPhone/iPad app that nobody else is making and then implements the idea. Kudos to Corey McCaffrey for creating this app. (And on behalf of my daughter, who is an avid Harry Potter fan, good job on the app name!) If you want to learn more about the background of this app, Gaston Kroub of Above the Law interviewed Corey McCaffrey earlier this month.
Click here to get Accio Patent (free): 
