Patent classification helps conduct searches
Patent classification is your key to technical information
The patent classification is your key to technical information, especially when "words are not enough". It is an internationally agreed way of defining which field of technology a specific invention belongs to.
Each patent document bears on its front page the marking Int.Cl.7. The figure in it may vary, but in all cases it tells you that the invention has been classified according to the International Patent Classification. Some patent offices have additional classifications of their own. For example, the US patent office has a US Patent Classification and the European Patent Office has a European Patent Classification (ECLA).
The importance of a patent classification has not diminished in the era of electronic access even though classification was first to exist. In the days of manual searching, classification was the only means of organizing documents in a way that enabled search of earlier, similar inventions from the vast collections of patent documents. In electronic search, a simple word search may retrieve a great number of hits. The search can be narrowed with the help of a suitable patent classification.
Our Internet databases facilitate the use of patent classification in searches.
International Patent Classification (IPC)
The International Patent Classification is the most widely used classification. It is revised every five years. The first version was taken into use in 1970 and the seventh version was introduced in 2000. IPC can be used in searches in the espacenet (search field IPC Classification).
More information on this classification can be found on the website of the World Intellectual Property Organization.
International Patent Classification (version 7 and the preceding version 6). Under "Catchword Index" there is a small list of search words where you can try to find suitable classes.
European Patent Organization's Patent Classification (ECLA)
ECLA can be used in searches from the espacenet (search field EC Classification). ECLA is based on the International Patent Classification, but it is more extensive.
US Patent Classification (USPC)
USPC is the classification used by the US patent office and differs somewhat from the International Patent Classification.
Information on US Patent Classification, see especially Tools & Manuals.