By
Donald Zuhn —

Last
month, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and European Patent Office
announced the publication of an advanced version of the Cooperative Patent Classification
(CPC) scheme and some final CPC definitions ahead of the CPC's official launch on
January 1, 2013.  The CPC is a detailed
classification system that includes approximately 250,000 classification
symbols based on the International Patent Classification (IPC), which is administered
by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).  The new classification system, which incorporates
the best classification practices of both the U.S. and European systems, will
enable efficient prior art searches to be conducted and is also expected to
enhance efficiency by supporting work-sharing initiatives designed to reduce
unnecessary work duplication.  The joint
effort to develop a joint patent classification system was first announced in
October 2010 (see "USPTO and EPO to Develop Joint Patent Classification
System").

The
two offices noted that the CPC launch package includes the complete CPC scheme,
59 of the 625 final CPC definitions, and a CPC-to-IPC concordance.  CPC definitions will be available for every
CPC subclass and contain a description of the technical subject matter covered
in the subclass.  The CPC website can be
found here.

EPO
President Benoît Battistelli discussed the CPC launch on his blog
at the EPO website.  Patent Docs readers may recall that USPTO Director David Kappos
posted a list of twelve reasons why the USPTO is moving to the CPC on his blog
earlier this year.

For
additional information regarding the launch, please see:

•
USPTO press release, September 28, 2012
•
EPO press release, October 1, 2012

For
additional information regarding this topic, please see:

•
"USPTO Takes Next Step Towards Cooperative Patent Classification System,"
June 25, 2012
•
"USPTO and EPO Launch Patent Classification Website," October 26,
2011
•
"USPTO and EPO Agree to Principles of Joint Patent Classification System,"
February 14, 2011
•
"USPTO and EPO to Develop Joint Patent Classification System,"
October 25, 2010