Patent Classification Schemes

Patent examiners typically classify an inventor’s application for a grant of patent into a number of classes, depending on that invention’s components and functions. To conduct a thorough and comprehensive patent search you should query the database by class.
• Classification brings together similar devices and concepts, even when different terms have been used to describe the inventions;
• When an invention or device is truly new there is no established or agreed terminology to describe it;
• Classification systems provide a language independent search tool, one that embraces all domains of technology;
• Patent classes are well-defined;
• Patent classes are arranged in an ordered and logical fashion;
• Patent classes are hierarchical. Classes are deconstructed into detailed sub-classes.

There are three main classification schemes in common use. These are:
1. United States Patent Classification (USPC)
2. International Patent Classification (IPC) ~ with the European Classification System (ECLA) scheme being both a variant and an extension of the IPC
3. A new (and developing) cooperative (CPC) scheme is an ongoing and evolving meld of the US and International schemes. The Cooperative Patent Classification is being developed by a partnership between the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and the European Patent Office (EPO). The CPC is designed to replace their existing systems with a common classification scheme.

Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC)
Note: This is an ongoing initiative to harmonise the US patent classification with the WIPO / IPC (European classification) system to form a new, Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) scheme.

The Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) is a US - European partnership between the USPTO and the EPO where the offices have agreed to harmonize their existing classification systems (USPC and ECLA, respectively) and migrate towards a common classification scheme. This was a strategic decision by both offices and is seen as an important step towards advancing harmonization efforts currently being undertaken through the IP5’s Working Group 1 on Classification.

The migration to CPC was based in large on the existing European Classification System (ECLA) modified to ensure compliance with the International Patent Classification system (IPC) and standards administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
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CPC is the outcome of an ambitious harmonization effort to bring the best practices from each Office (EPO, USPTO, ECLA, and USPC) together. The conversion from ECLA to CPC at the EPO will ensure IPC compliance and eliminate the need for the EPO to classify US patent documents. At the USPTO, the conversion will provide an up-to-date classification system that is internationally compatible.
Cooperative Patent Classification - browse & search the CPC scheme at the European Patent Office (EPO)
Cooperative Patent Classification - browse & search the CPC scheme at the USPTO
Guide to the CPC
The CPC Scheme is divided into three parts:
o Main trunk;
o 2000‐series;
o Section Y
International Patent Classification (IPC)
WIPO's International Patent Classification (IPC) provides for a hierarchical system of language independent symbols for the classification of patents and utility models according to the different areas of technology to which they pertain. It divides technology into eight sections with approximately 70,000 subdivisions. Each subdivision has a symbol consisting of Arabic numerals and letters of the Latin alphabet. IP Australia uses the International Patent Classification to classify Australian patents.
U.S. Patent Classification Scheme (USPC)
USPC system uses several methods to classify patents, including:
• Industry or use (e.g., "164 - metal founding");
• Proximate function (e.g., "dispensing") (fundamental, direct, or necessary);
• Effect or product (e.g., the product of a manufacturing process or a system that produces an effect repetitively, such as "cookie-cutting machine" or "telephone system");
• Structure (e.g., a chemical structure or a metal alloy).
The organization of each patent class is framed around one or more of these rationales.

Patent Classification Schemes

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Acknowledgement of Traditional Owners