International patent classification

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Strasbourg Agreement on International Patent Classification
Short title: Strasbourg Agreement
Title (engl.): Strasbourg Agreement Concerning the
International Patent Classification
Date: March 24, 1971
Reference: BGBl. 1975 II pp. 283, 284
Contract type: Multinational
Legal matter: Commercial legal protection / classification agreement
Signing: 62
Ratification : 62 states (January 15, 2013)
Please note the note on the applicable contract version .

The International Patent Classification (officially: International Patent Classification, abbreviated IPC) is a tool for patent research . It has been used since 1975 to classify the technical content of patents uniformly worldwide. The IPC is used by the patent offices in more than 100 countries, as well as the European Patent Office and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), from which the Strasbourg Agreement on the International Patent Classification ( Federal Law Gazette 1975 II pp. 283, 284 ) is approved by the Classification was created is also managed. The IPC is continuously adapted to the development of technology and was updated every five years up to the 8th edition (2006). With the beginning of the 8th edition, the system was reformed and the classification was divided into "Core" and "Advanced"; the latter was revised more frequently than the former. Since January 1, 2011, this division has been canceled with the issue IPC-2011.01. The classification is updated annually on January 1st and can be viewed on the World Intellectual Property Organization website .

The complete IPC symbol, a code made up of letters and numbers, is also known as the IPC notation. The IPC notation is indicated on published patent applications and issued patents and is identified with the INID code 51.

classification

The classification is hierarchically divided into sections (letters), these into classes (digits) and subclasses (letters) and these in turn into approx. 70,000 main and subgroups (digits). The top hierarchy is made up of 8 sections, which divide the technology into areas.

IPC section Technical area
A. Daily necessities
B. Working procedures, transportation
C. Chemistry, metallurgy
D. Textiles, paper
E. Construction, earth drilling, mining
F. Mechanical engineering, lighting, heating, weapons, blasting
G physics
H Electrical engineering

Examples

for complete IPC symbols:

  • Stabilizing surfaces B64C5 / 00
  • Bicycle frame, tubular B62K19 / 06

Further classifications of property rights

In order to be able to divide the classes even more precisely and thus to facilitate the search, many patent and trademark offices have a further fine division below the IPC. The internal fine classification of the German Patent and Trademark Office is called DEKLA . The European Patent Organization has created the European Patent Classification ( ECLA ) as a fine division . In order to harmonize the various fine divisions, an association called Trilateral was founded to which the three world's largest organizations for intellectual property, the European Patent Office , the US Patent and Trademark Office and the Japan Patent Office belong.

Some states primarily use their own patent classification , for example the US the USPC. For other protection areas of intellectual property, there are other classifications: the International Classification of Goods and Services (Nice Classification, see Nice Classification ), International Classification of the Figurative Elements of Marks ( Vienna Classification ) and the International Classification for Industrial Designs Locarno Classification .

literature

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ http://www.wipo.int/treaties/en/classification/strasbourg/summary_strasbourg.html
  2. ↑ http://www.wipo.int/export/sites/www/treaties/en/documents/pdf/strasbourg.pdf
  3. ↑ Official WIPO website on the International Patent Classification (IPC)
  4. ↑ http://www.trilateral.net/

Web links