Competitor patent tracking spreadsheet template

One shared sheet for your weekly competitor patent watch. Each row is one search result or one "nothing new" week, with its CPC codes, status, why it matters and who has reviewed it.

Updated Oct 21, 2026By CodeYaz
FREE TEMPLATE
competitor-patent-tracking-spreadsheet.csv

Free to download. Opens in Excel and Google Sheets.

Download the CSVCSV · 2 KB

What it is for

A patent watch only works if it is written down. This template is a single sheet where your team records every weekly check of competitor patent filings: what was searched, what came up, why it might matter, who reviewed it and what was decided. It is built for the manual routine in our guide on tracking competitor patent filings, using free tools such as USPTO Patent Public Search or Google Patents.

The file is a plain CSV. It opens directly in Google Sheets (File → Import) and Excel, and contains no formulas or macros. The three example rows are fictional, marked "EXAMPLE —", and use placeholder numbers; delete them before you start.

The columns

Column What to write
Week checked The week of your check, for example 2026-W43. Use one row per competitor even when nothing new appeared.
Competitor (assignee name searched) The exact assignee name or variant you searched.
Saved search link The bookmarkable Patent Public Search link (or Google Patents URL) that produced the result, so anyone can rerun it.
Publication or patent number US application publication numbers have 11 digits, the first four being the publication year. Leave "—" for a week with no results.
Kind code A1 = patent application publication; B1 / B2 = granted patent (B2 had an earlier published application).
Title as published Copy the title exactly.
Publication date US applications are published on Thursdays.
CPC codes The Cooperative Patent Classification symbols on the document, written without spaces (A61B5/024).
Status last checked Published, rejected, allowed, granted, abandoned, and the date you checked.
Why it might matter One plain sentence: which feature of which of your products.
Claims compared Which claims someone has actually read against your product.
Reviewer Initials of the person responsible for this row.
Review date When that person reviewed it.
Decision Keep watching, raise at design review, send to patent attorney, or no action.
Next check When to look at its status again.

How to use it

  1. Import the file into a shared Google Sheet or an Excel file in your team drive. Freeze the header row.
  2. Delete the three EXAMPLE rows.
  3. Create one saved search per competitor and CPC subclass in Patent Public Search. The USPTO's external-search guide shows how a query such as (acme%20ADJ%20inc).as.%20AND%20A61B.cpcl. with db=US-PGPUB becomes a link you can bookmark. Paste each link into the "Saved search link" column of that competitor's first row.
  4. Pick one check day, ideally Friday or Monday, after Thursday's publications. Run each saved search, sort by date, and add one row per new document. If a search returns nothing new, add one row saying so.
  5. Fill in "Why it might matter" and "Reviewer" on the same day. Every row then has an owner.
  6. Use "Next check" to revisit status for anything that looks close. Applications move through examination, and claims can change before grant.
  7. Filter by Decision = "send to patent attorney" before each meeting with counsel, and share those rows with the claim notes.

If you prefer one tab per competitor, duplicate the sheet and filter each copy by the "Competitor" column; the single-sheet layout keeps sorting and filtering simple.

Limits

  • It is a log, not a search engine. It only holds what someone searched and copied in. A filing under an assignee name you did not search will not appear.
  • Publication comes late. Most US applications are published about 18 months after their earliest filing date, and some are never published before grant. The sheet cannot show what the USPTO has not yet published.
  • It is not legal advice. "Why it might matter" and "Claims compared" are engineering notes. Whether a filing affects your product is a question for a registered patent attorney or agent.
  • Keep it accurate. Copy titles, numbers and dates from the USPTO record rather than from memory, and record the date of every status check.

SOURCES

  1. 35 U.S.C. 122 — Confidential status of applications; publication of patent applications (Cornell LII) · accessed Oct 21, 2026
  2. USPTO, MPEP 1120 — Eighteen-month publication of patent applications · accessed Oct 21, 2026
  3. USPTO, Patent Public Search — Setting up external searches Quick Reference Guide · accessed Oct 21, 2026
  4. USPTO, Patent Public Search — Searchable indexes · accessed Oct 21, 2026
  5. USPTO, Patent Public Search Basic Search Quick Reference Guide (2024) · accessed Oct 21, 2026
  6. USPTO, Kind codes included on USPTO patent documents · accessed Oct 21, 2026
  7. USPTO, MPEP 905 — Cooperative Patent Classification · accessed Oct 21, 2026