1. IPC REFORM Objectives and principal Features Antonios Farassopoulos World Intellectual Property Organization IPC Forum 2006 Geneva

2. Modern History of the IPC u 1956 - Council of Europe initiates work on European Patent Classification u 1968 - 1st edition of the IPC u 1971 - Strasbourg Agreement concerning the IPC u 1975 - Strasbourg Agreement entered into force u Every five years - a new edition of the IPC u 2000 - 7th edition of the IPC

3. Purposes of the IPC u Primary purpose: effective search tool for the retrieval of patent information u Other purposes: –selective dissemination of information –investigation of the state of the art –preparation of industrial property statistics

4. Worldwide Application of the IPC u 55 States-members of the Strasbourg Union u IPC is applied: –in more than 100 countries –by five international organizations

5. IPC Crisis at the end of the XX century u IPC - a tool for manual searching u IPC - a compromise between large and small patent offices –not sufficiently detailed for large offices –too complex for small offices u IPC - need to consult several editions

6. IPC Advanced Seminar (December 1998) Discussions about the IPC future

7. Seminar Conclusions u IPC retains its value as the only world- wide patent classification u Methods of revision and use of the IPC should be radically changed u IPC should become a tool for searching electronic information

8. Launch of the reform u In March 1999 the IPC Committee of Experts decides to start reform of the Classification u In March 2000 the strategic plan for the development of the IPC is approved

9. Strategic Goals of the Reform u Integration of the IPC with the systems of electronic information u Creation of a universal search tool for all patent offices u Establishment of a global system of generation, processing and distribution of classification data

10. Principal objectives of the reform u Division of the IPC into core and advanced levels u Creation of the Master Classification Database u Reclassification of search files according to revision changes u Introduction in the IPC of electronic information and tools facilitating classification and search u Accommodate the IPC to an electronic environment

11. Core level u Volume - 18, 000 groups (all main groups and some 1, 2 dot gr. based on file size) u Use: - search in small national patent files - dissemination of patent information - patent statistics u Revision according to the traditional procedure (IPC/CE) Revision cycle - three years Revision cycle - three years > more stable

12. Advanced level u Initial volume in 2006 - 70, 000 groups u Revision by a Special Subcommittee according to accelerated procedure Use - search in international patent files (PCT minimum documentation) Use - search in international patent files (PCT minimum documentation) Continuous revision Continuous revision > accelerated revision, more dynamic

13. Core and advanced levels u May be used on the choice of patent offices u Are fully compatible

14. Electronic information in the reformed IPC u Classification definitions –subclass definition –Interrelations with other subclasses –classification rules within the subclass –informative references –definitions of technical terms u Chemical formulae; drawings u Standardized sequence of main groups

15. Master Classification Database u Hosted by EPO; extension of existing DocDB u Classification data on the worldwide patent collections u Complete IPC data according to current version u Complete information of the core level by rolling- up of advanced level symbols u Bridge to full text databases u Access via Espacenet, Epoque, national systems

16. Unique Advanced Level collection DOCDB – 54,000,000 documents Conversion of back file (mainly using ECLA + JPO input) IPC 1 Documents 1970 - 1975 IPC 4 Documents 1985 – 1990 IPC 7 Documents 2000 – 2005 Immediate reclassification after partial revision (carried out for the world by trilateral offices) + MCD in 2006

17. Electronic exchange of data u Reclassification for each new AL version –PCT min by trilateral offices –propagation of reclassification to all family members –lists of remaining documents to be reclassified by respective offices u Delivery of reclassification data to the Master Classification Database

18. New ST.8: Recording IPC data New ST.8 F new symbol length –old: A01B123/12345 –new: A01B0123/123456 F version indicator –attribute: YYYYMMDD F invention / additional ~ non-invention –attribute: (I) or (N) F advanced / core –attribute: (A) or (C) F original / reclassified –attribute: (B) or (R) F action date –attribute: YYYYMMDD F human / machine propagated / generated by computer –attribute: (H), (M) or (G)

19. Document classified in the core level: (51) Int. Cl. (2006) B28B 5/00 B28B 1/00 H05B 3/10 Document classified in the advanced level: (51) Int. Cl. B28B 5/00 (2006.01) B28B 1/29 (2007.04) H05B 3/18 (2008.07) Italics Advanced Level Version Indicator Regular Core Level Non-bold Additional Information Bold Invention Information New ST.10/C

20. Publications of the IPC u Printed publication - only the core level u Internet publication - on the users choice, display is possible: Internet publication Internet publication –only to the core level or to the complete text of the Classification (advanced level) –only tо the official text or with the inclusion of electronic information u XML files (scheme, validity file, RCL, Catchword Index)