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Experts Chart Course for International PatentClassification in the Digital Age

Geneva, March 24, 2000
Press Updates UPD/2000/92

Experts meeting under the auspices of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) have approved a strategic plan that charts the future development of the international patent classification system in the digital era. The Committee of Experts of the International Patent Classification Union agreed on a series of measures that will ensure that the IPC remains relevant to its users and makes it more accessible as a global information resource. The creation of a master database to facilitate access to information about patents was also endorsed.

The International Patent Classification (IPC) system is a hierarchical system by which patent information is divided and subdivided into a range of sections, classes, subclasses and groups (main groups and subgroups). This system is an indispensable tool for the retrieval of patent documents in the search for "prior art" to establish the novelty of an invention. Such information is required by patent-issuing authorities, potential inventors, research and development units, and others concerned with the application or development of technology.

The IPC is updated on an on-going basis to ensure that it remains a relevant and useful information resource. The current reform process was initiated by WIPO in 1999 to ensure that the IPC is equipped to meet the challenges of the digital age. It is anticipated that current efforts will result in the conversion of the IPC into an information resource that will feed into a worldwide patent information system and serve the needs of all industrial property offices and the general public. Under the strategic plan approved during the meeting, the architecture of the reformed IPC will consist of a two level structure. The core level will serve the patent information needs of small patent offices, especially in developing countries, and the general public. The advanced level is designed to accommodate the information needs of large patent offices, such as those that act as International Searching Authorities (ISAs) under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).

The Committee also approved the creation of the Master Classification Database. This information tool, one of the pillars of the reformed IPC, will include classification data relating to the world's patent documents and patent-related technical literature. This major development will be a key component of intellectual property digital libraries and will provide broad-based access to a comprehensive source of information about inventions throughout the world.

Measures designed to make the IPC a more user-friendly and accessible global patent information resource, particularly for non-professionals, were also approved by the Committee. To ensure consistent global application, electronic data images will be introduced to illustrate the contents of the IPC. This data will also provide definitions and explanations of classification groups, technical terms and expressions, including chemical formulae.

Following a detailed discussion of the status of IPC reform, the Committee established the reform program for the current year which includes a broad range of activities, including, revision of IPC policy and procedure, cooperation between industrial property offices in relation to the reclassification of collections of patent information, simplification of IPC rules, provision of modern information technology tools to support training in the use of the IPC. Progress in the implementation of this reform program will be reviewed by the Committee at its next session in February 2001.

The meeting which was held at the headquarters of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in Geneva from March 13 to 17, 2000, was attended by representatives from 20 different countries and the European Union.

Background

The International Patent Classification (IPC) is based on the Strasbourg Agreement Concerning the International Patent Classification, a WIPO-administered international treaty which was concluded in 1971 and entered into force in 1975. The Agreement is open to states party to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property. On January 1, 2000, 45 states were party to this multilateral agreement. However, the industrial property offices of more than 90 states, four regional offices and the WIPO secretariat under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) actually use the IPC.

The seventh edition of the IPC, which came into force on January 1, 2000, consists of 8 sections, 120 classes, 628 subclasses and approximately 69,000 groups. Each subdivision is attributed a symbol consisting of Arabic numerals and letters of the Latin alphabet. The appropriate IPC symbols are indicated on each patent document (published patent applications and granted patents), of which about 1,000,000 were issued each year in the last 10 years. The IPC symbols are allotted by the national or regional industrial property office that publishes the patent document. In order to keep the IPC up to date, it is continuously revised and a new edition is published every five years.

For additional information, please contact the Media Relations and Public Affairs Section at WIPO:

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