EPO and USPTO unveil new classification system
Managing IP is part of the Delinian Group, Delinian Limited, 4 Bouverie Street, London, EC4Y 8AX, Registered in England & Wales, Company number 00954730
Copyright © Delinian Limited and its affiliated companies 2024

Accessibility | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Statement

EPO and USPTO unveil new classification system

The EPO and USPTO have launched a new patent classification system, called the Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC), as part of efforts to harmonise patent procedures globally

The CPC is effective for both offices from January 2 as a means of classifying technical documents, notably patent publications. It replaces the previous separate systems (known as ECLA and USPC).

The new system is based on the ECLA and comprises some 250,000 symbols. Definitions for every CPC sub-class will be regularly updated.

The CPC has been developed by staff from both offices, including examiners, over the past two years.

EPO President Benoît Battistelli told Managing IP that the work at the EPO involved the equivalent of 150 full-time examiners and the Office has spent €12 million on IT modifications. It has also updated about 10% of all its documents.

The CPC is compatible with the International Patent Classification (IPC) system, used by WIPO and many other patent offices. But it is much more precise, with many more categories.

Classification harmonisation was one of 10 foundation projects agreed by the IP5 offices (EPO, JPO, KIPO, SIPO and USPTO) in 2007.

Battistelli said he was optimistic that KIPO and SIPO would adopt the CPC and it would soon become a global standard. The JPO has its own comprehensive classification system.

He added that improved access to information would benefit users and examiners: “The quality of patents will certainly improve.”

CPC promotional and training events are listed on the CPC website.

Managing IP’s February issue will include in-depth interviews on the CPC with Battistelli and USPTO Director David Kappos

more from across site and ros bottom lb

More from across our site

AI
Tennessee has passed the ELVIS Act, a law that fights against AI models that mimic the voice and likeness of music artists
Rob Stien, chief communications and public policy officer at InterDigital, says the EU has forgotten innovators while trying to solve an issue that doesn’t exist
As Australia’s Qantm IP leans towards being acquired by a private equity company, sources discuss what it could mean for IP firms
Law firms that are conscious of their role in society are more likely to win work, according to a survey of over 23,000 in-house professionals
Nghiem Xuan Bac Pham, managing partner of Vision & Associates, discusses opportunities created by the US-China rift as well as profitability issues facing IP practices
Douglas Leite and two of his colleagues were intrigued by Bhering Advogados’s mission to grow its patent litigation practice
Each week Managing IP speaks to a different IP practitioner about their life and career
Counsel explain how pricing flexibility, patent agents and being business partners can help them maintain profitable patent prosecution practices
We provide a rundown of Managing IP’s news and analysis from the week, and review what’s been happening elsewhere in IP
Speakers at an INTA event weighed in on why firms should create AI use policies and how they stay on top of the latest developments
Gift this article